An NFL Team Gets 3 Timeouts Per Half. Not 3 Per Game.

It is one of the most commonly misstated rules in the sport, including by people who watch every week: a team does not have three timeouts for the game.

Three in each half

Each team is allowed three charged team timeouts per half. When the second half begins, the allotment resets to three, regardless of how many were used before the break.

Unused first-half timeouts do not carry over. They expire at halftime.

Why a 'wasted' timeout often is not

This is why a coach will spend one late in the second quarter on something that looks minor - avoiding a delay of game, getting a substitution right, stopping the clock on a drive that is going nowhere. A first-half timeout still in hand when the whistle blows is worth nothing at all, so its real cost late in a half is far lower than it looks.

The limit has teeth

The three is not a soft cap. If a team requests a timeout in a half after it has already used its three, the timeout is charged and the team is penalised five yards for delay of game.

• 01Three charged team timeouts per half
• 02The allotment resets at halftime
• 03Unused timeouts do not carry over between halves
• 04A fourth request in a half is charged and costs five yards for delay of game