Parent's Guide to NFL FLAG 10U Flag Football 2026-27

NFL FLAG is 5-on-5. Substitutions can be made whenever the ball is dead.

The field is 25 yards wide and either 70 yards long with 10-yard end zones or 64 yards long with 7-yard end zones. There are no kickoffs:

1. Each possession starts at the offense's own 5-yard line.
2. The offense has 4 downs to cross midfield.
3. Once past midfield, it has 3 downs to score a touchdown.
4. If it doesn't score, the other team takes over at its own 5-yard line.

Punt or play: before a 4th down short of midfield, the referee asks the head coach to declare "punt" or "play". A "punt" gives the other team the ball at its own 5-yard line. If the offense plays and fails to cross midfield, the other team takes over where the play ended.

Every play starts with the ball spotted in the middle of the field, never closer than 10 yards to a sideline.

In NFL FLAG regular-season league play:

• 48 minutes on a continuous (running) clock: two 24-minute halves.
• Halftime is 2 minutes.
• The clock stops only for halftime, team timeouts, injuries and at the officials' discretion.
• Each team gets one 60-second timeout per half; unused timeouts don't carry over.
• The offense has 40 seconds to snap the ball once it's spotted.
• The game ends early if a team leads by 35 points or more (the teams can agree to keep playing without changing the score).

Tournaments are shorter: two 12-minute halves, a 1-minute halftime, a 25-second play clock and three 30-second timeouts per game.

After a touchdown, the team must declare a 1-point or 2-point try. Changing that choice costs a timeout, and it can't be changed after a penalty.

A safety happens when the ball carrier is downed in their own end zone (flag pulled or falls out, steps out of bounds, knee or arm touches the ground, fumble in the end zone), or when a snap lands in or beyond the end zone.

Mercy rule: in regular-season play, the game ends when one team leads by 35 points or more.

Not directly. The quarterback (the player who takes the snap) can't run the ball across the line of scrimmage.

What the offense can do:

• Hand off, pitch or lateral the ball behind the line of scrimmage, and the receiving player can run or throw.
• The quarterback can then become a receiver if the ball was handed off, pitched or lateraled behind the line.
• Throw one forward pass per play, from behind the line, and it must cross the line of scrimmage.

The offense can't hand the ball first to the center (no "center sneak"). Once a handoff, pitch or lateral happens, the 7-second pass clock no longer applies and every defender may rush.

No-run zones are the 5 yards before midfield and the 5 yards before the opponent's end zone. When the ball is spotted in one of these zones, the offense can't run the ball across the line of scrimmage; the play must be a forward pass that crosses the line.

They stop teams from simply running the ball for short gains near the first-down line and the goal line. Each drive meets two no-run zones: one approaching midfield and one approaching the end zone.

In 10U, no-run zones are in effect. They're dropped only in 8U and younger regular-season play.

Yes. In 10U the standard NFL FLAG rushing rules apply (rushing is only banned in regular-season 8U and younger):

• Up to two players may rush the quarterback.
• Rushers must start at least 7 yards from the line of scrimmage at the snap, behind a rush line marked by the official.
• Rushers must raise a hand before the snap and must rush immediately; a delayed rush isn't allowed.
• Once the ball is handed off, pitched or lateraled behind the line, any defender may cross the line of scrimmage.
• Rushers may try to block a pass, but contact with the quarterback (unless incidental) is roughing the passer.

The quarterback has a 7-second pass clock. If they don't throw in time, the play is dead and the down counts. Defenses are never required to rush.

A tie at the end of regulation goes to overtime:

• Round 1: each team gets one play, choosing either 1 point (from the 5-yard line, pass only) or 2 points (from the 10-yard line, run or pass). If the second team fails to match or beat the first, the game is over.
• Round 2: both teams must go for 2 points from the 10-yard line.
• Round 3 onward: each team gets one play from its own 5-yard line going out of the end zone; the team that gains the most yards wins and gets 1 point added.

There are no timeouts in overtime. An interception returned for a score in overtime is worth 2 points and ends the game. The final score includes all overtime points.

NFL FLAG rules keep everyone except coaches off the playing field:

• Team photographers, managers, team moms, fans and other family members must stay in the designated league viewing area, off the field.
• Keep younger kids and gear such as coolers, chairs and tents at least 10 yards off the field, in the end zone area.
• Stay in the end zone area, not between fields.
• Put all trash in the trash cans.

Sportsmanship rules for fans:

• Cheer for your own players; don't harass officials or the other team.
• Keep comments clean and free of profanity.
• Compliment all players, not just one child or team.

Coaches are responsible for the conduct and behavior of their team's fans. Only the team captain or head coach may ask the referee about a rule.

No. NFL FLAG prohibits electronic communication between any player and their coach or a spectator for their team, in both league and tournament play.

If a team or individual uses electronic communication with a player or coach at any time, that team is disqualified immediately, and the league organizer can add further discipline.

Coaches give instructions from the sideline; parents should cheer, not coach.

Flag football is non-contact, but collisions and falls still happen. The CDC's HEADS UP guidance for youth sports says:

1. Remove your child from play right away if they show any sign or symptom of a concussion after a bump, blow or jolt to the head or body.
2. Check for danger signs and call 911 or go to the emergency department if you see any of them: seizures, not recognizing people or places, repeated vomiting, increasing confusion or agitation, loss of consciousness or trouble staying awake, slurred speech, weakness or numbness, a headache that gets worse, or one pupil larger than the other.
3. Keep them out for the rest of the day and until a healthcare provider clears them.
4. Don't judge severity yourself. Only a healthcare provider should evaluate a concussion and decide when your child can return.

Common signs in school-age kids: looking dazed or confused, trouble remembering or concentrating, slower answers, clumsiness, vomiting soon after the injury, and mood or behavior changes. Symptoms can take hours or days to appear.

When in doubt, sit them out.