how long does american football game last

An American football game is officially 60 minutes long, divided into four 15-minute quarters. However, due to numerous stoppages such as timeouts, commercials, halftime, injury breaks, and replay reviews, the actual time it takes to complete a game is much longer. The average National Football League (NFL) game takes about 3 hours and 12 minutes from start to finish. College football games tend to last slightly longer, about 3 hours and 24 minutes , mainly due to longer halftime breaks and different clock rules. Halftime in the NFL typically lasts around 12 minutes, whereas in college football, halftime is about 20 minutes. If a game is tied at the end of regulation time, overtime periods of 10 minutes may be played, extending the game further. So, while the game clock runs for 60 minutes, the full experience of watching an American football game typically lasts over three hours.