The NCAA in 1927 applied a rule where the goal posts were moved from the goal lines, ten yards further back to the end lines. This may be the first instance of where the posts were found on the endline which is extremely common today in the United States. The NFL followed suit, as they were still using the NCAA rule book at the time.

The location of goalposts today is along the rear line of the end zone. So if a team is set to try a field goal from the 20 yard line, to estimate the official distance add 10 yards for the end zone (and then another 7 for the snap and placement of the ball before the kick). Field goals from the 20-yard line are officially 37-yarders.

One of the most iconic items in American and Canadian brands of football are the goal posts. These towering giants make a statement, they differentiate a football field from those of soccer, field hockey, lacrosse etc. They still can be found around the football world in a variety of shapes and sizes but where did all of this come from?

The origins of the goal posts in American Football were a crossbar of 10 feet high (3.05 meters) off the ground, 18.5 feet wide (5.64 meters) and 10 feet tall (4.572 meters). So basically, American Football took the rugby goal and shortened the height of the uprights and adopted their goal posts as their own sport’s goal posts.