While you already may know many of the standard stories and folklore, there probably are many interesting football facts that you’re not yet aware of, so following are a few insights that might enlighten you.
You probably already know the basics such as the dimensions of a football field–100 yards long and 160 feet wide–and that the standard number of players on the field at any one time is11 on offense and 11 on defense.
Miscellaneous
- First African-American quarterback, 1953
- Soccer athletes now paid more than American football players
- Average length of career, about four years
Many females actively get into the sport by cheerleading. Most games are four quarters in length, with the number of minutes in each quarter dictated by the level of competition at which the game is being played. Games go into overtime when the two teams have the same score at the end of regulation play.
Even the most knowledgeable of football fans may not know some of the following. For instance, there’s no video footage of the very first Super Bowl when the Green Bay Packers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs because the network carrying the game taped over the original footage to air a soap opera.
It was 1974 when the first memorable Super Bowl commercial began a trend that’s continued ever since. It was an ad for Noxzema face cream with famous quarterback Joe Namath of the Jets as its spokesperson.
The first African-American quarterback made his debut in 1953 for the Chicago Bears. As if his parents had known his destiny at birth, he was given the name of Willie Thrower. Here’s another interesting fact: soccer now has overtaken American football as the sport with the highest paid athletes and highest valued teams.
The rough and rugged game of rugby is considered to be the sport after which football was modeled. The first man paid to play football was William “Pudge” Heffelfinger. Heffelfinger received the grand sum of $500 to lead his Allegheny Athletic Association against the Pittsburgh Athletic Club in 1892.
But, one of the most intriguing football facts has to do with the player’s income. Don’t be deceived and believe that all professional football players are spot-on rich. The average salary of a football player is $750,000, but their average career length is a mere four years. After taxes, agent’s fees, management fees and the like, that $750,000 annual salary is far less than the average person would think. And after their average four years as an active player is behind them, most players are forced to seek a second vocation.
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