One-minute warning

The one-minute warning or the one-minute timing rule was a rule that dictated the flow of the game in the final minute of a half in some indoor American football leagues, most prominently the Arena Football League.[1] During the AFL's final season in 2019, it occurred in last half-minute of regulation or overtime.[2]

At the half-minute mark of regulation or overtime, the referee announced: "One-minute Timing Rule in effect". During the final minute of play, the game clock changes from a continuously running clock (except for scores and time-outs) to a clock that mostly mirrored NCAA rules (stopping on first downs, out of bounds, incompletions, and so on.) For most of the league's history, any play that did not advance the ball across the line of scrimmage also stopped the clock; this prevented teams from kneeling to run out the clock. (This rule was repealed in 2018.) It also rewards defensive play, as a tackle for loss automatically stops the clock. Any player injured during this time and that team uses a timeout. The original one-minute timing rules are still in effect in the China Arena Football League.[3]

In the former X-League, after the one-minute warning or in overtime, the "X-Bonus" rule came into play. All scoring during the final minute of play was worth double what it is normally worth, and a special black football was used.