The two-minute warning is a suspension of play in an American football game that occurs when two minutes remain on the game clock in each half of a game, i.e., near the end of the second and fourth quarters, and overtime.[1] Its effect on play is similar to that of a timeout: the game clock stops and the teams gather to discuss strategy. The suspension of play is two minutes long, the same as the short two-minute intermissions between quarters within each half.[2] The rule is used in levels of professional football and is referred to as the two-minute timeout in the NCAA and high school football in Texas since 2024.
Its name reflects its origins as a point in the game where the officials would inform the teams that the half was nearly over, as the official game clock was not displayed in the stadium at the time the two-minute warning was created. With the official game clock being displayed prominently in the stadium in modern times, the original purpose of the two-minute warning is no longer necessary, but it has nevertheless evolved into an important reference point in a game. A number of rules change at the two-minute warning, including several relating to the game clock. The two-minute warning is often an important factor in a team's clock management strategy. An additional rationale for retaining the two minute warning is related to the value of television airtime at that point in the game. Television networks invariably run commercials as soon the two minute warning is called, with those slots being among the most lucrative of any in a major football telecast.
The two-minute warning is called when the clock reaches exactly 2:00 if the ball is dead at that time. If the ball is in play when the clock reaches 2:00, the play is allowed to come to its normal end and the two-minute warning is called when the play ends. Therefore, it is not uncommon for the two-minute warning to be called with less than two minutes on the clock, for example 1:55.
Regardless of when it is invoked, the clock is always stopped for the two-minute warning even if the situation would otherwise call for the clock to run. Furthermore, in dead ball situations, regardless of how much time remains on the play clock when the two minute warning comes into effect, that clock is always reset in the same manner it normally would be after a clock-stopping play. The game clock starts again when the ball is snapped for the following play.
There is an additional two-minute warning in the rare event only two minutes remain in an overtime period, which lasts a maximum of ten minutes in the regular season (prior to 2017, the extra period ran fifteen minutes). However, in the postseason, where games continue indefinitely until there is a score, the usual timing rules for a half apply in overtime. Thus, there is no two-minute warning in the first overtime, but if in the second overtime, and any subsequent even overtime period, a game were to be still tied with two minutes remaining, there would be a two-minute warning.