Penalty ( American football ) In American football and Canadian football , a penalty is a sanction called against a team for a violation of the rules , called a foul . Official s initially signal penalties by tossing a bright yellow ( American Football ) or orange ( Canadian football ) colored " penalty flag " onto the field toward or at the spot of a foul . Most penalties result in moving the football toward the offending team ' s end zone , usually either 5 , 10 , or 15 yards , depending on the penalty . Some penalties against the defensive team also result in giving the offense an automatic first down , while a few penalties against the offensive team cause them to automatically lose a down . In some cases , depending on the spot of the foul , the ball is moved half the distance to the goal line rather than the usual number of yards , or the defense scores an automatic safety . Rationale . Because football is a high - contact sport requiring a balance between offense and defense , many rules exist that regulate equality , safety , contact , and actions of players on each team . It is very difficult to always avoid violating these rules without giving up too much of an advantage . Thus , an elaborate system of fouls and penalties has been developed to " let the punishment fit the crime " and maintain a balance between following the rules and keeping a good flow of the game . Players and coaches are constantly looking for ways to find an advantage that stretches the limitations imposed by the rules . Also , the frequency and severity of fouls can make a large difference in the outcome of a game , so coaches are constantly looking for ways to minimize the number and severity of infractions committed by their players . It is a common misconception that the term " penalty " is used to refer both to an infraction and the penal consequence of that infraction . A " foul " is a rule infraction for which a " penalty " is prescribed . Signaling and announcing penalties . Official s initially signal fouls by tossing a bright yellow colored flag onto the field toward or at the spot of the foul . Because of this , broadcasters and fans often use the term " flag " to refer to fouls during the game . During a play , multiple officials may flag the same play , and multiple flags may be thrown for separate fouls on the same play . If applicable , the same official can signal additional fouls on a given play by throwing a beanbag or his hat . When officials throw a flag during a down , play does not stop until the ball becomes dead under normal conditions , as if there were no fouls . Once the ball is dead , or immediately when a foul is called after a play is over or prior to a snap ( since the ball is dead anyway ) , the referee , the official ( s ) who threw the flag ( s ) and other officials with a view of the play confer to come to a consensus on whether an infraction was actually committed , what it was , and who committed it . The final determination and assessment of the penalty is the sole responsibility of the referee . The referee then makes initial visual body signals to the press box ( and crowd ) indicating what fouls were committed and the team that committed them , the latter shown by extending the arm toward that team ' s end zone . The referee then confers with the offended team ' s on - field captain to find out whether the offended team would rather decline the penalty and take the result of the play . In certain situations , the result of the play may be more advantageous to the offended team , especially , for example , if time is running out in the half and a 7 - yard gain is a better option than a 5 - yard penalty . However , there are certain scenarios where the referee may not have to confer with the team captain because the enforcement is entirely obvious ( such as a false start foul or other penalties called prior to the snap ) or when the choice is fairly obvious ( such as when the defense commits a foul during a play in which the offense scores a touchdown ) . After any final conference , the referee then makes full visual signals describing the foul in detail , which consists of : the foul that was committed , the team that committed it , whether or not the opposing team chooses to decline it , and the resulting down or possession . In College football , the NFL and other professional leagues , and in some high school games , the referee also announces the fouls and their penalties over a wireless microphone to the members of the teams , the crowds in the stands , and viewers / listeners of the televised / radio broadcast of the game . In college and professional football , the referee will also give out the numbers of the players who committed the fouls . During these announcements over the microphone , the referee usually does not use names of the respective teams or their cities , but rather will use the generic terms " offense " , " defense " , " kicking team " , " receiving team " , etc . General types of penalty enforcement . The following are general types of penalty enforcement . Specific rules will vary depending on the league , conference , and / or level of football . Most penalties result in replaying the down and moving the ball toward the offending team ' s end zone . The distance is usually either 5 , 10 , or 15 yards depending on the penalty . However , such penalties , when enforced , are capped at half the distance to the offending team ' s goal line . Depending on the foul , the spot where the penalty is enforced may be at the spot of the foul ; the previous spot ( the line of scrimmage where the down began ) ; the spot of the snap , fumble or backwards pass ; or the succeeding spot ( the line of scrimmage of the next down ) . Some defensive penalties give the offense an automatic first down . Conversely , some offensive penalties result in loss of a down ( loss of the right to repeat the down ) . If a penalty gives the offensive team enough yardage to gain a first down , they get a first down , as usual . However , if the offense commits a foul in its own end zone , the defense scores an automatic safety if the penalty is accepted . If the defense commits a foul during the last play of any quarter , the offense usually has the option to accept the penalty and replay the down even with the clock showing 00 : 00 ( i . e . , an untimed play ) . Conversely , in most cases where the offense commits a foul during the last play in the half , the play in which the foul is committed is usually nullified and the half ends . When a " double foul " occurs , when both teams commit a foul during a play , regardless of severity , the fouls are usually offset and the down is replayed . However , the two fouls must be committed in the same time frame . For instance , two fouls during the active play can offset , but a foul during the play and a personal foul after the whistle may not . Two personal fouls after the play can offset , although this is not often called . In the NFL , a major ( 15 yard ) penalty by one team may not offset a minor ( 5 yard ) penalty by the other team . List of penalties . In the NFL , most defensive penalties result in an automatic first down . The exceptions are offside , encroachment , neutral zone infraction , delay of game , illegal substitution , calling excess timeouts , running into a kicker , and having more than 11 men on the field . In these cases , the appropriate yardage penalty is assessed . If the yardage penalty results in a first down , then a new set of downs is awarded ; otherwise , there is a repeat of down . The ten - second runoff rule . In the NFL and NCAA , a 10 - second runoff is assessed if any of the following acts are committed by the offense in the last minute of either half : The 10 - second penalty does not apply if : Moreover , the game clock will run once the ball is placed . If such a runoff occurs with 10 seconds or less remaining , the half automatically ends . Since the enforcement of the 10 - second runoff , four NFL games ended automatically due to this rule ( 2005 Arizona - St . Louis , 2009 Cincinnati - Green Bay , 2011 Chicago - Oakland , and 2012 Washington - Philadelphia ) . A pre - season game in 2006 between Houston and Kansas City had the first half end automatically due to an intentional grounding foul with less than 10 seconds left , as did a 2012 regular season game between New England and Arizona ( which cost New England the chance to attempt a field goal at the end of the half in a game they eventually lost by two points ) . Starting in 2011 , the NCAA adopted a similar 10 - second penalty rule for college football . Like the NFL rule , it applies in the last minute of each half , but the NCAA rule differs in that it applies to fouls by either side that cause a clock stoppage . Like the NFL rule , the team that benefits from the penalty may elect to take both the yardage and the runoff , the yardage alone , or neither ( but not the runoff in lieu of yards ) . The penalized team may elect to take a charged timeout in order to avoid the run - off . The new NCAA rule was passed in response to the end of the 4th quarter in the 2010 Music City Bowl . In that game , the North Carolina Tar Heels were down 20 - 17 at the end of the 4th quarter and because they had no timeouts , they spiked the ball to stop the clock with 1 second left while too many men were on the field due to confusion about whether the field goal unit needed to come on the field . Because college football did not yet have the 10 - second runoff , UNC was penalized 5 yards but was still able to kick the field goal to send the game to overtime , and would wind up beating Tennessee 30 - 27 in double overtime . Intentional fouls . In certain situations , a team may intentionally commit a foul in order to receive a penalty that they see as advantageous :