Does a football game continue if a player dies during the game?

Answer 1

There does not appear to be an actual rule in the rulebook to cover this situation. It would potentially be treated as an emergency situation (which covers weather scenarios and other imminent threats) where the commissioner could call for the game to be stopped and resumed on a later date.

Only one player has died on the field in an NFL game - Chuck Hughes of the Detroit Lions in 1971, during a pass play in the final minutes of the game. He was not hit during the play but when returning to the huddle he collapsed due to a heart attack. The game was completed but reportedly in near silence. His teammates were informed of his death before leaving the stadium.

Reggie Brown, also of the Lions, suffered a severe spinal cord injury in 1997 and had to be resuscitated by CPR on the field, but he ultimately survived.

Answer 2

That would be a hard call. More then likely nobody would know that a person died until after the game due to taking the person by ambulance to the hospital. They would be unlikely to announce that the player has died on the field. So, the answer would be no, due to not knowing the player died.

Answer 3

yes