In gridiron football, a punt is a kick performed by dropping the ball from the hands and then kicking the ball before it hits the ground. The most common use of this tactic is to punt the ball downfield to the opposing team, usually on the final down, with the hope of giving the receiving team a field position that is more advantageous to the kicking team when possession changes. The result of a typical punt, barring any penalties or extraordinary circumstances, is a first down for the receiving team. A punt is not to be confused with a drop kick, a kick after the ball hits the ground, now rare in both American and Canadian football.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch photograph (1905), of Bradbury Robinson, football's first triple threat man, preparing to punt
Ty Long punting against the Washington Football Team in 2021.
The 2007 Virginia Tech Hokies football team blocks a punt against the Duke Blue Devils
Mike Vanderjagt (left) punting for the Toronto Argonauts in 2008.
Gridiron football, also known as North American football, or in North America as simply football, is a family of football team sports primarily played in the United States and Canada. American football, which uses 11 players, is the form played in the United States and the best known form of gridiron football worldwide, while Canadian football, which uses 12 players, predominates in Canada. Other derivative varieties include arena football, flag football and amateur games such as touch and street football. Football is played at professional, collegiate, high school, semi-professional, and amateur levels.
A 1904 diagram of an American football field. In this period, lines were painted along the length of the field as well as the width, making a checkerboard pattern.
Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, a Canadian Football League field originally built for the 1978 Commonwealth Games
