So let’s take to the field and find out what all the markings mean.
Each team must make 10 yard’s to get a 1st down, and must make the ball go past (even if its just the
tip of the ball) the goalline to score a Touchdown.
So what are the lines in the middle they are Hash marks and on the next page we learn more about
the Yard Lines and the Hash Marks.
Yard lines
Yard lines, at intervals of 5 yards, run parallel to the goal lines and are
marked across the field from sideline to sideline. These lines stop 8 inches short of the 6-foot solid
border in the NFL.
Yard lines give players and fans an idea of how far a team must advance the ball in order to record a
first down. As Chapter 3 explains in detail, an offensive team must gain 10 yards in order to post a
first down. Consequently, every 10 yards, starting from the goal lines, the field is numbered in
multiples of 10. In the NFL, the bottoms of these numbers are placed 12 yards from each sideline.
The numbers 10, 20, 30, 40, and one 50-yard line are 2 yards in length. All these lines and numbers
are white.
Hash marks
Hash marks mark each yard line 70 feet, 9 inches from the sidelines in the NFL.
Two sets of hash marks (each hash is 1 yard in length) run parallel
to each other down the length of the field and are approximately 181⁄2 feet apart. When the ball
carrier is either tackled or pushed out of bounds, the officials return the ball in-bounds to the closest
hash mark to where it’s spotted.
Punted balls that go out of bounds are also marked on the nearest hash mark.