photo courtesy Cooper Neill/Getty
This is a question that came to mind when comparing the average time of games across the four major sports leagues: whether the NFL should reduce the play clock from 40 to 35 seconds and then from 20 to 15 seconds on a dead-ball play?
For years, the NFL play clock was always 40 seconds from the first play and 20 seconds on a dead-ball foul, but that was back when the MLB had the slowest average time of all four professional sports.
But as of 2026, the NFL has the slowest time of play, averaging 3 hours and 12 minutes, whereas the MLB is faster, lasting 2 hours and 36 minutes due to the addition of the pitch clock and the ghost runner at 2nd base in extra innings. The NHL is next with an average time of 2 hours and 18 minutes due to the 3-on-3 overtime and the shootout in the regular season.
The NBA has the fastest average game time at 2 hours and 15 minutes due to only having a 24-second shot clock and (4) 12-minute quarters of fast-paced, high-scoring games.
Why should NFL Play Clock be trimmed from 40 to 35 seconds?
Because people today have very short attention spans or may have another appointment they must attend to. The game clock can stay at 15 minutes for four quarters, but by reducing the play clock by five seconds, the players can use more quick huddles or even more tempo to get to the line of scrimmage to run the play.
It also stems from college basketball, when the NCAA reduced the shot clock in 1994 from 45 seconds to 35 seconds to try to keep the pace of the game fast. Then in 2016, the NCAA reduced the shot clock from 35 seconds to 30 seconds to try to make it a more pro-style pace in an amateur sport and to better prepare college athletes for the NBA or other pro leagues.
Possible Revival of Basketball on Turf/Grass
From 2011 to 2023, the NFL kept the play clock at 40 seconds, and the league innovated by shifting from its traditional pro-style sets, with multiple tight ends and a fullback, to spreading the ball out to try to better develop NFL quarterbacks. This often led teams to hurry back to the line after every play and get the snap off quickly, like they were playing pickup basketball.
But since 2023, the league has reverted back to going under center with multiple tight end sets and a running game to take time off the game clock. They can still do that, but if the NFL reduces the play clock from 40 to 35 seconds, they can still play this style of ball while using more quick huddle and tempo.
Could NFL ever consider reducing the Play Clock?
Yes and no. The CFL just recently adopted a 35-second play clock and reduced its field length from 110 to 100 yards to better resemble an NFL game. The reason this works in the Canadian League is that it allows wide receivers to line up anywhere and even run offside at the line of scrimmage before the quarterback snaps the ball.
In the NFL, all offensive players must stay onside and can only motion on their end of the line of scrimmage, which makes the plays take longer to develop than the quicker pace in the CFL.
With complaints that the modern-day NFL is boring and needs something to juice it up, maybe the NFL will consider reducing the play clock to have games last less than 3 hours.
We’ll see what the NFL wants to do, but if today’s fans still want to watch a full NFL game, the league should accommodate them by going to a 35-second play clock. Otherwise, the league would be pulling away from its passionate fans.
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