What is the farthest that a person can throw an American style football through the air?

Answer 1

That depends entirely upon who is throwing the ball. Not factoring in wind conditions, quarterbacks like Brett Favre, Jeff George, and John Elway probably could throw it up to 80 yards at their peak. There was a QB in the 50's who supposedly could throw it 100 yards, but this is only a rumor and not based on fact. The commercials in which Michael Vick supposedly throws the ball 120 yards are entirely false. That is impossible.

Bo Jackson, in college, reportedly threw a football from one end zone to the other.

In a college QB competition, QB Joe Flacco (then at the University of Delaware, later with the Baltimore Ravens) recorded an 81 yard throw.

In 1997 Kansas State QB Michael Bishop threw one 93 yards in practice.

As part of a scouting combine, LSU QB Jamarcus Russell threw the ball about 85 yards, which is phenomenal (keep in mind that he is 6' 6" and about 260 lbs).

In competitive football, the length of the throw is not measured, but rather the length of the play, so there is no official record for Longest Throw. A distance of 80-90 yards (73-82 m) seems to be considered the longest. One NFL site lists an unofficial record for ball distance, which was 83 yards by Don Meredith of the Dallas Cowboys, part of a 95-yard pass to Bob Hayes on November 13, 1966.