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Fair Catch
1. The member of the receiving team must raise one arm a
full length above his head and wave it from side to side
while kick is in flight. (Failure to give proper sign:
receivers’ ball five yards behind spot of signal.) Note:
It is legal for the receiver to shield his eyes from the
sun by raising one hand no higher than the helmet.
2. No opponent may interfere with the fair catcher, the
ball, or his path to the ball. Penalty: 15 yards from
spot of foul and fair catch is awarded.
3. A player who signals for a fair catch is not required
to catch the ball. However, if a player signals for a
fair catch, he may not block or initiate contact with
any player on the kicking team until the ball touches a
player. Penalty: snap 15 yards.
4. If ball hits ground or is touched by member of
kicking team in flight, fair catch signal is off and all
rules for a kicked ball apply.
5. Any undue advance by a fair catch receiver is delay
of game. No specific distance is specified for undue
advance as ball is dead at spot of catch. If player
comes to a reasonable stop, no penalty. For penalty,
five yards.
6. If time expires while ball is in play and a fair
catch is awarded, receiving team may choose to extend
the period with one fair catch kick down. However,
placekicker may not use tee.
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