Table of Contents
- Rules of Eligibility
- NCAA Rules
- NFL Rules
- CFL Rules
- Examples
- FAQ
Rules of Eligibility
Passing the ball is one of the main ways to advance the ball downfield in American football. The passing game of a football team is vital to its success, but you can’t just pass it to anyone on the team. Certain rules dictate which players are allowed to catch the ball and which players are not. The main purpose of these rules is to give the defense a fairchance to defend against the passing game by limiting the number of players able to catch the ball on offense.
An ineligible receiver who receives a forward pass is docked with a penalty. This penalty is called “illegal touching” and results in a five-yard loss and a loss of down for the offense.This penalty is universal across the NCAA, CFL, and NFL. Players on defense are always eligible receivers.
NCAA Rules
In the NCAA, the determining factor of whether a player is an eligible receiver is their jersey number and position on the field when the ball is snapped.Players on offense wearing jersey numbers between 50 and 79 are always ineligible. Players on the offense whose numbers do not fall between 50 and 79 are eligible only if they meet certain criteria: the player is at the end of the group of players on the line of scrimmage (this includes wide receivers and tight ends), the player is behind the line of scrimmage by at least one yard (running backs), or the player receives a snap from behind the center (usually the quarterback).
Exceptions
There are some exceptions to the eligibility rules, such as a player wearing an eligible jersey number at an ineligible position if a special teams play is occurring. If a player changes positions during the game, they must also change jersey numbers to reflect that position. This is done to help the referees easily spot ineligible receivers and players in the wrong position in the case of an illegal shift.
Reporting Change of Eligibility
Additionally, a player whose number makes him ineligible may declare his eligibility to the referee before the start of the play.The referee will announce this and point to the player in question. Once a player has been declared eligible, he may catch passes and be downfield as a regular receiver would.
A player may also declare ineligibility if they wear a legal receiving number but will line up as an interior lineman and not be an eligible receiver. This is much less common than linemen declaring eligibility.
NFL Rules
In the NFL, the offensive team must have seven players lined up on the line of scrimmage, and only two of those players (at either end of the line of scrimmage) are considered eligible receivers. All players in the backfield (up to four in the NFL and five in the CFL) are eligible. The quarterback is eligible unless he is lined up behind the center in the I-formation (sometimes called the T-formation), then the quarterback is not eligible.
Just like in the NCAA, eligible receivers must wear certain jersey numbers. To be an eligible receiver, a player must be wearing any number that does not fall between 50 and 79. There are no exceptions unless a player reports to a referee that they will be lining up in an eligible position with the intent to catch a forward pass.
NFL wide receivers can also be ruled ineligible if they leave the field of play before or during a pass, even if they have re-entered the field of play with their feet or another body part. This rule does not come into play if a defender pushes the receiving player out of bounds prior to the catch, so long as they immediately re-enterthe field of play.
CFL Rules
The CFL eligible receiver rules are almost the same as the NFL eligible receiver rules, with a few slight differences. All eligible players must wear numbers that do not fall between 50 and 69. Also, players behind the line of scrimmage may move in any direction prior to the snap and do not have to be motionless when the ball is snapped.
Examples
Eligible receiver rules have been manipulated in multiple ways to give a team an edge over their opponent. In 1985, William “The Refrigerator” Perry famously caught a touchdown pass after being made an eligible receiver. Perry, normally a defensive linemanand wearing jersey number 72, lined up in an eligible position after notifying the referees of the team's intent.
In a 2015 game between the Patriots and Ravens, the Patriots ran a trick play in which running back Shane Vereen, a slot receiver,was actually playing the right tackle position while in the slot. The linemanin the left tackle position reported as an eligible receiver while the wide receiver in the slot was ineligible. This resulted in a big play from the Patriots, much to the Raven’s dismay. NFL team owners later banned the trick from being used in official gameplay.
FAQ
What numbers are considered eligible receivers in the NFL?
In the NFL, an eligible receiver number is any jersey number outside of 50 through 79. However, a player wearing a number in this range can declare themselves an eligible receiver by taking a position at the end of the line or in the backfield at least a yard behind the line of scrimmage and announcing their intent to the referee prior to the snap.
How many eligible receivers can you have?
NFL teams can have up to six eligible receivers on the field at once.This is because there needs to be at least five players on the line of scrimmage, meaning there would only be six positions that could be eligible.That being said, given the formation of a typical offensive line and the need for a player to throw the ball,NFL teams will typically field no more than five eligible receivers at once.
What makes a receiver eligible?
The main factors that determine a player’s eligibility are their position during the snap and their jersey number.Players on the line of scrimmage must be positioned on the outside of the formation to be eligible. Any player in the backfield is also eligible as long as they are more than a yard behind the line of scrimmage. Offensive players wearing any number outside of the range of 50-79 are eligible. Typically, this means that offensive linemen are ineligible, while quarterbacks, wide receivers, tight ends, and running backs are eligible.
