What Happens When an Ineligible NFL Receiver Touches a Pass?

An originally ineligible offensive player commits illegal touching if he intentionally touches first, or catches, a forward pass thrown from behind the line of scrimmage. The accepted penalty is five yards from the previous spot.

Part of Football 101. Explore the guide to choose your next topic.

A quarterback works behind his offensive line during the 2007 Army–Navy game. Photo: Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Herbert D. Banks Jr./U.S. Navy; public domain via Wikimedia Commons.

This foul does not carry loss of down. The down generally repeats. On second and 10, ordinary enforcement produces second and 15, not third and 15.

Intentional touching and catching

A lineman cannot reach out to tip an untouched pass to a teammate or catch it himself unless his eligibility has changed. The rule applies even if the forward pass is otherwise illegal, provided it was thrown from behind the line.

An accidental brush is different from an intentional first touch. A pass striking an ineligible player's body without a deliberate attempt to touch it does not automatically establish this foul. Catching the pass does.

A caught pass remains live, so defenders should continue the play. The defense may decline the penalty if the outcome is better, such as an eventual turnover.

A prior touch can change eligibility

After a defender or an eligible offensive player touches the pass, all offensive players become eligible to catch it. A lineman can therefore legally catch a ball deflected by a defender.

Contact with an official does not provide that same eligibility change. Officials are not eligible receivers.

Properly reporting as eligible can establish receiving eligibility before the snap, but the player must still line up in a legal eligible position. Reporting is not permission to catch from any formation spot.

Similar names, different fouls

An eligible receiver who goes out of bounds, returns and then first touches the pass faces a separate illegal touching rule. That version carries loss of down at the previous spot, without the five yard penalty described here.

An ineligible player can also be penalized for being illegally downfield without touching the ball at all. Identify the player's original status, any intervening touch and the actual announced foul before calculating the next down.

Examples and illustrations

Keep reading

Who is eligible to catch: Start with the formation and numbering requirements.

Receivers returning from out of bounds: Compare the separate loss of down rule.

Ineligible receiver downfield: Learn why touching the pass is not required for every receiver foul.

Browse the Football 101 library.

Rules reviewed October 10, 2026. Source: 2026 NFL Rulebook, Rule 8 Section 1 Articles 5 and 8; Rule 14 Section 1 Article 2.