The NFL’s officials are known for throwing a yellow flag to indicate that a player has committed a penalty. Everyone stops to see what the call is and where the ball will be placed for the next play. You’ll also notice an official will toss a small bean bag on the field to mark the spot of a fumble or where a punt was caught.
You will also notice on some plays that an official throws their hat. There are two reasons why an NFL official will throw their hat. Let’s take a look at what causes the official to do this.
Second Penalty on Play
During the course of a play, an official will throw the yellow flag when they see a player commit an infraction. When the same official sees another infraction on the same play, they will use their hat to signal another penalty.
NFL official Carl Paganelli gets a stray right from Jets DL Michael Clemons who is ejected #MIAvsNYJ – Paganelli stays in the game! #BlackFriday pic.twitter.com/8kG6H7gfFS
— Sports Injury Central (@SICscore) November 24, 2023
This seems to happen a lot after a play when players get into a scuffle, like what we saw during the Black Friday game between the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets.
Receiver Goes Out of Bounds
An official will throw their hat to indicate when an eligible receiver left the field on their own or as a result of a defensive player legally pushing them out. If a receiver goes out of bounds and is then the first player to touch a pass, it’s a penalty called illegal touching of a forward pass. The offense will be penalized five yards from the original spot and a loss of down.
It’s not a penalty if the player goes out of bounds and doesn’t touch the pass. If a receiver steps out of bounds, they can only make a legal catch if they reestablish inbounds and another player touches the pass first.
Thrown Hat Gone Wrong
In 2012, the Dallas Cowboys were playing against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the NFL officials’ lockout. Cowboys wide receiver Kevin Ogletree was making a cut in the end zone as he was trying to get open for Tony Romo when he fell. Ogletree tripped over a hat that an official had thrown because he believed the wide receiver had stepped out of bounds. You can see the play here.
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Ogletree was not injured when he slipped on the hat, but the incomplete pass forced a field goal. It appeared on replay that he never stepped out of bounds. The next night, the Seattle Seahawks defeated the Green Bay Packers on the “Fail Mary,” and the league settled the labor dispute with the officials a few days later.
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