# Why can't you keep the football? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 6, 2006, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-you-keep-the-football/379331 "2006-11-06T18:42:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Diddledog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Diddledog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diddledog)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2006, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-you-keep-the-football/379331/1 "2006-11-06T18:42:50Z")
Why do they take the football back after it does into the stands? In baseball, snagging a foul ball or a homer is one of the joys of going to the game, but during most (I’m sure there are exceptions) football games, they hoist a net behind the goal posts or insist that the fan throw the football back. Is it simply the price of a football? I’m sure they’re a lot more expensive than a baseball, but still, that seems chintzy, especially for a pro team. Wouldn’t it just make good sense from a marketing perspective, if nothing else, to let a few happy fans go home with a football? ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2006, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-you-keep-the-football/379331/2 "2006-11-06T18:56:57Z")
[QUOTE=Diddledog] Why do they take the football back after it does into the stands? In baseball, snagging a foul ball or a homer is one of the joys of going to the game, but during most (I’m sure there are exceptions) football games, they hoist a net behind the goal posts or insist that the fan throw the football back. Is it simply the price of a football? I’m sure they’re a lot more expensive than a baseball, but still, that seems chintzy, especially for a pro team. Wouldn’t it just make good sense from a marketing perspective, if nothing else, to let a few happy fans go home with a football? [/QUOTE] You used to be able to keep them. I know at old Municipal Stadium in Cleveland one ot the goals was very close to the bleachers and extra points at that end invariably went into the stands and many balls were kept including one by yours truly, though my uncle was the one who caught it. At some point serious fights developed over getting these balls. I seem to recall there was even a knifing involved – not necessarily at Cleveland, I just seem to recall it. The NFL made the return of the footballs mandatory to eliminate the fighting. ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2006, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-you-keep-the-football/379331/3 "2006-11-06T18:59:35Z")
I don’t know if there is a definitive answer, but I think you will find that baseball is the exception, rather than the rule. The fans aren’t allowed (AFAIK) to keep the ball in basketball, soccer, volleyball or any other “ball” game that I’m aware of. In these games, the ball is generally intended to be kept within the field of play, or within the defined “out of bounds” areas on the field. In baseball, however, it is expected that a ball will occasionally be hit into the stands during the normal course of play. Baseball managers decided long ago to allow the fans to keep the balls that they caught, but the other sports have not seen the need for this policy. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2006, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-you-keep-the-football/379331/4 "2006-11-06T19:06:26Z")
Minor hijack: If the puck at a MLH game goes into the stands, can the finder keep it? (I’ve only been to minorLH games, and there you can keep the puck) ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2006, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-you-keep-the-football/379331/5 "2006-11-06T19:08:59Z")
Reuben’s rule permits baseball fans to keep foul balls: > [@](#): > > Back in 1904, a rule let major league teams put employees in the seats to retrieve fouls caught by spectators, said Tim Wiles, director of research at the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. > > In 1921, New York Giants fan Reuben Berman caught a foul at the Polo Grounds. When he refused to give it up to an usher, Berman was ejected. > > “Angry and humiliated, Berman sued the Giants for mental and physical distress and won, leading the Giants, and eventually other teams, to change their policy of demanding foul balls be returned,” Wiles said. [http://www.usatoday.com/sports/tennis/open/2004-09-07-foul-balls\_x.htm](http://www.usatoday.com/sports/tennis/open/2004-09-07-foul-balls_x.htm) Other sports do not seem to have adopted a similar rule. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2006, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-you-keep-the-football/379331/6 "2006-11-06T19:11:11Z")
[QUOTE=Kevbo] Minor hijack: If the puck at a MLH game goes into the stands, can the finder keep it? (I’ve only been to minorLH games, and there you can keep the puck) [/QUOTE] Er. Some other sports: > [@](#): > > Fans are welcome to keep any puck shot into the stands, but NHL rules prohibit interference with any game in progress. Any fan interfering with a game will be ejected from the building. > **[Official Tampa Bay Lightning Website | Tampa Bay Lightning](https://www.nhl.com/lightning/errors/not-found)** > > The official National Hockey League website including news, rosters, stats, schedules, teams, and video. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2006, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-you-keep-the-football/379331/7 "2006-11-06T19:12:11Z")
[QUOTE=FatBaldGuy] I don’t know if there is a definitive answer, but I think you will find that baseball is the exception, rather than the rule. The fans aren’t allowed (AFAIK) to keep the ball in basketball, soccer, volleyball or any other “ball” game that I’m aware of. In these games, the ball is generally intended to be kept within the field of play, or within the defined “out of bounds” areas on the field. In baseball, however, it is expected that a ball will occasionally be hit into the stands during the normal course of play. Baseball managers decided long ago to allow the fans to keep the balls that they caught, but the other sports have not seen the need for this policy. [/QUOTE] You can keep the puck at hockey games. Well I guess technically that’s not a ball. You can also keep a bat in a baseball game if it goes into the stands. Often though, the batter will make a swap to keep a favorite bat offering a different bat in exchange. I was at one AHL hockey game in New Haven many years ago when the opposing goalie gave up a big lead in a playoff game (three goals I’m thinking), and he threw his goalie stick into the crowd. Now this was a horrible thing to do as it could have injured someone, and it’s not at all like a puck going in during the course of play. They tried to get it back, but we the crowd put up such a a protest that they didn’t persist. In any case the goalie got a game misconduct so he didn’t need it the rest of that night. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2006, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-you-keep-the-football/379331/8 "2006-11-06T19:16:08Z")
football: > [@](#): > > Why do teams put nets up during field goals so fans can’t keep the ball? In baseball, fans are allowed to keep the ball. > > Nets are in place for two reasons: fan safety, and because teams would run short on footballs if every ball went into the stands and was kept by a fan. Keep in mind that at $89.99 per ball, it’s could get pretty pricey if too many were lost in the stands. [http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/102906/jag\_5863225.shtml](http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/102906/jag_5863225.shtml) ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2006, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-you-keep-the-football/379331/9 "2006-11-06T19:22:39Z")
In cricket, where it is reasonably common for the ball to be hit outside the field of play (and the batter scores 6 runs for this), the ball gets returned to the field. Part of the reason would be that the amount of wear on the ball affects how the ball plays, and if the ball were lost or went out of play, it would need to be replaced with a similarly worn ball. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2006, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-you-keep-the-football/379331/10 "2006-11-06T19:34:27Z")
Is it true that if a player sends a ball into the stands, say after scoring a touchdown, that player is monetarily responsible for the cost of the ball, but the receiving fan can keep it? ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2006, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-you-keep-the-football/379331/11 "2006-11-06T19:38:14Z")
[QUOTE=garygnu] Is it true that if a player sends a ball into the stands, say after scoring a touchdown, that player is monetarily responsible for the cost of the ball, but the receiving fan can keep it? [/QUOTE] That’s what I came to ask. Not that I think that the player has to pay for the ball, but in the instance where it’s not a free for all ball grab and the “gift” so to speak is handed/directly tossed to a fan can they keep it then? ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2006, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-you-keep-the-football/379331/12 "2006-11-06T19:46:27Z")
Best I can do on player ball giveaways: > [@](#): > > Fred Taylor has approximately 50 cases in his home where he keeps special footballs. Some are game balls, given to him by the coaches for outstanding games. Some mark milestones. Taylor kept the ball from his first touchdown as a rookie against Denver. He also has the ball from his best day as a pro, a 234-yard explosion against Pittsburgh in November of 2000. Taylor says he doesn’t keep every ball. In fact, he gives several away to friends, family and teammates. > > Backup quarterback Quinn Gray missed out on the chance to keep a touchdown ball from last season. In the first action of his pro career, Gray tossed a touchdown pass to Matt Jones in the final game at home against Tennessee. Excited about the touchdown, Jones threw the ball in the stands. > > Jones told Gray: “Dude, I didn’t even know.” > > Recalls Gray: “Matt’s dad said, ‘Maybe Quinn wanted to keep that ball.’ Then I see the guy that caught the ball in the stands after the game, and he wants me to sign it. I’m like: ‘Can I have it?’ But the dude wanted to trade the ball for my jersey.” [http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/102906/jag\_5863225.shtml](http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/102906/jag_5863225.shtml) ---
**Author:** ![Frosted\_Glass](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frosted_glass/32/3926_2.png) [@Frosted\_Glass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frosted_Glass)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2006, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-you-keep-the-football/379331/13 "2006-11-06T19:46:38Z")
[QUOTE=garygnu] Is it true that if a player sends a ball into the stands, say after scoring a touchdown, that player is monetarily responsible for the cost of the ball, but the receiving fan can keep it? [/QUOTE] I am searching for a cite but IFAIK that is the case. A player is monetarily responsible for the cost of the ball (not a big deal to an NFL player) but the fan can keep it if it is tossed into the stands as a gift. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2006, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-you-keep-the-football/379331/14 "2006-11-06T19:47:45Z")
> [@](#): > > Keep in mind that at $89.99 per ball, it’s could get pretty pricey if too many were lost in the stands. With those salaries? They can afford to give a couple souvenier balls. One thing that’s been overlooked - a baseball is very much a “consumable” item. In use, it gets torn up pretty quickly and [they expect to go through 60-70 per game.](http://www.faqfarm.com/Q/How_many_baseballs_are_used_during_a_MLB_game) If a few get knocked into the stands, that just relieves them from having to dispose of the things. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2006, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-you-keep-the-football/379331/15 "2006-11-06T19:54:50Z")
The $89.99 price is retail for a Wilson “collector’s edition” ball: [http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2226899&cp=2262162&parentPage=family&searchId=18103388111](http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2226899&cp=2262162&parentPage=family&searchId=18103388111) What they bill as merely an “official game ball” sells for $69.99: [http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=9922&cp=2262162&parentPage=family&searchId=18103388111](http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=9922&cp=2262162&parentPage=family&searchId=18103388111) I would guess there is substantial retail markup at work here, and that the NFL teams get balls at a steeply discounted price. Even at $90 a pop, I don’t really think price is the issue - given the budget for an NFL game, a few thousand bucks worth of souvenir footballs would hardly be noticeable. They probably just don’t want to have to change the rules to require teams to provide more balls to account for the ones lost into the stands. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2006, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-you-keep-the-football/379331/16 "2006-11-06T19:56:08Z")
[QUOTE=Gfactor] Best I can do on player ball giveaways: [/QUOTE] Heh. It helps if I read the entire page that I cite: > [@](#): > > Do players who throw the ball in the crowd get fined? > > Yes, but the actual dollar amount of a fine is levied at the league office’s discretion. \*Id. \* ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2006, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-you-keep-the-football/379331/17 "2006-11-06T19:56:43Z")
Lost some words there… Meant to continue on saying that footballs don’t get torn up nearly as quickly as baseballs. I couldn’t readily find specs on how many footballs are used in a game, but I can’t imagine it being more than 6-10, unless players stomp on them with their cleats. Those poor baseballs, OTOH, get thrown at up to 90 MPH, hit the bat, get squished to about half their normal size and bounce back at about 110 MPH, all in about a millisecond. Small wonder they only last for about six pitches on average. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2006, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-you-keep-the-football/379331/18 "2006-11-06T20:15:43Z")
[QUOTE=gotpasswords] Lost some words there… Meant to continue on saying that footballs don’t get torn up nearly as quickly as baseballs. I couldn’t readily find specs on how many footballs are used in a game, but I can’t imagine it being more than 6-10, unless players stomp on them with their cleats. Those poor baseballs, OTOH, get thrown at up to 90 MPH, hit the bat, get squished to about half their normal size and bounce back at about 110 MPH, all in about a millisecond. Small wonder they only last for about six pitches on average. [/QUOTE] The provided link says: > [@](#): > > Both teams are responsible for 12 footballs in each game. Each team gets 840 footballs per year, per the NFL licensing agreement. The team pays for any additional footballs. In addition, the footballs usually have the team’s name stamped on them. The home team is responsible for an additional 12 footballs in case of a shortage due to inclement weather. If each field goal attempt ended in a ball going home with a fan, as well as through the end zone kickoffs and punts bouncing into the stands, how many balls could they lose? I based my “few thousand dollars” above on 30 balls, which would actually be hard to imagine. ---
**Author:** ![stuyguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@stuyguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stuyguy)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2006, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-you-keep-the-football/379331/19 "2006-11-06T20:43:37Z")
A few years ago I, while visiting a friend in Atlanta, I came up with what I still consider a winning marketing scheme: Drop the Nets Day. It was a Sunday, so I suggested to my friend we see the Falcons play. (Seeing a pro football game in person is a real rarity for us NYCers since all the tickets have been locked up since LaGuardia was mayor.) The birds were in the toilet at the time, so we had no trouble just walking up to the box office and getting tickets for that day’s game. The game was not well attended, and the section behind the goal posts – the worst and cheapest seats, and where we were seated – was a ghost town. That’s when I got to experience first-hand the bitter frustration of those football-blocking end-zone nets. It occurred to me that there’s an opportunity being missed here. Lose those nets, and promote Drop the Nets Day like crazy, I thought! For the price of a handful of used balls, the teams could fill those empty seats, pronto. Plus they’d build up a ton of good will with the ailing fans. Hell, for a team with really, really bad attendance, they could just drop the nets altogether, all season long. ---
**Author:** ![spifflog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@spifflog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spifflog)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2006, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-you-keep-the-football/379331/20 "2006-11-06T20:49:07Z")
[QUOTE=stuyguy] A few years ago I, while visiting a friend in Atlanta, I came up with what I still consider a winning marketing scheme: Drop the Nets Day. It was a Sunday, so I suggested to my friend we see the Falcons play. (Seeing a pro football game in person is a real rarity for us NYCers since all the tickets have been locked up since LaGuardia was mayor.) The birds were in the toilet at the time, so we had no trouble just walking up to the box office and getting tickets for that day’s game. The game was not well attended, and the section behind the goal posts – the worst and cheapest seats, and where we were seated – was a ghost town. That’s when I got to experience first-hand the bitter frustration of those football-blocking end-zone nets. It occurred to me that there’s an opportunity being missed here. Lose those nets, and promote Drop the Nets Day like crazy, I thought! For the price of a handful of used balls, the teams could fill those empty seats, pronto. Plus they’d build up a ton of good will with the ailing fans. Hell, for a team with really, really bad attendance, they could just drop the nets altogether, all season long. [/QUOTE] But as was discussed, the fights that would break out would make this a “drop your health insurance day” real fast. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-you-keep-the-football/379331.md?page=2)