The Rules of Arena Football
Arena Football as a game is a unique brand of football that engages elements of American football. Arena Football One is dedicated to building a new league that is dedicated to the Arena Football principles of fan engagement and non-stop action for the 2025 Premier Season and Beyond.
Arena Football Inventor Jim Foster created the concept at the time he was the promotions man for the NFL. He conceived arena football while watching an indoor soccer match at Madison Square Garden in 1981. While at the game, Foster wrote his idea on a 9x12 envelope, with sketches of the field and notes on gameplay.
Arena Football distinguishes its game with its own proprietary "rebound nets" that make it a unique brand of football that creates high-octane action for its fans. In addition, Arena began with "IRON MAN" football, in which players played offense and defense for the entire game.
Fast forward to the present day, Arena Football One emerged from a group of founding members committed to bringing Arena Football to fans. With dedicated ownership and experienced leadership, AF1 is primed to continue the storied legacy of Arena Football in 2025 and beyond.
The 2025 AF1 Premier Season maintains the original DNA of Arena Football while maintaining player safety and providing the fans with the fast action that they love about arena football.
Arena Football One is dedicated to promoting and furthering the game for our coaches, players, fans, and communities. Here are some of the key rules for the 2025 AF1 Season.
REBOUND NETS
There are few things in sports that are as iconic as the rebound nets of Arena Football. Each net section spans thirty feet wide and 32 feet high, with a nine-foot wide crossbar connecting the nets. Balls off the nets are live and in play. Most often, you will see the ball live off the nets on kickoffs, but they can be used to field missed field goals and pass plays as well. Catching the rebound off the net is no easy feat, but it allows players to kick-start the action.
The nine-foot crossbar is fifteen feet off the ground and used for field goals, extra points, and the deuce (more on that later). Kicking is a lost art, and the narrow uprights and rebound nets make the kicking game an integral part of the AF1 game, where games can be won or lost based on the kicker’s performance.
WALLS
The walls are 48 inches high and consist of an outer padding of high-density foam padding. These “dasher boards” are a key factor in the Arena game as they create the boundary of the playing field. However, like the nets, a ball can be played off the wall! Players will fly into them, over them, and onto the walls, so pay attention if you are sitting at field level.
A player is only considered “out of bounds” if hit into the wall. However, a player can make a catch by going over the wall, and so long as they make contact with the wall on their way out of play and maintain possession, they make the catch. This leads to exciting plays where players are leaping over the wall and making highlight reel catches.
SCORING
For the 2025 AF1 Season, we will use the following scoring and values.
Touchdown: 6 Points
Point After Touchdown: 1-point kick, 2-point conversion from the two-yard line
Field Goal: 3-point kick (4 points for a drop kick)
Deuce: 2-point kick if the kickoff goes through the uprights
Safety: 2 points if the offensive player is tackled in their own endzone
PLAYERS ON THE FIELD
Each team will have eight players on the field at a time. On offense, this consists of three receivers, one fullback, one quarterback, and three offensive linemen. One offensive lineman may report as an eligible receiver each play and be designated as the tight end. All three receivers, the fullback, and the tight end, may be eligible receivers on any play.
Defensively, the eight players consist of three defensive backs, three defensive linemen, one Mac linebacker, and a Jack linebacker. The linemen must rush straight ahead and may not run stunts or twists at the line of scrimmage. On each play, the Mac linebacker will be the linebacker closest to the line of scrimmage and must line up opposite the tight end. The Jack linebacker covers the tight end and can move wall to wall in coverage. Neither linebacker may move beyond five yards downfield in coverage.
Arena Football has featured the Ironman rules in the past, but AF1 has decided not to mandate players play both ways. That does not mean that there will not be players who do play both ways. Many talented players who may play both ways are on rosters for the 2025 season, but we are not mandating it.
MOTION MAN
Besides the giant nets and walls, people first notice a man in motion on every offensive play. The High Motion Man can get a running start toward the line of scrimmage before the snap. So long as he doesn’t cross the line of scrimmage before the snap, he is onside.
The Motion Man is often a talented receiver for the offense who makes the offense go. A running start puts pressure on the defense and lets the offense bring some speed to the field. Defending is challenging even the most talented defenders and creates exciting one-on-one matchups.
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