According to Rule 5.1 of the NFL rule book, each team has 11 players on the field for a total of 22 playing on the field at once.
An NFL team is allowed to carry a maximum of 53 players on a team, but only 47 players can be active during a game. This allows for 11 defensive players, 11 offensive players and a backup for each of those players. In addition, each team has a punter and kicker who only play on special teams, and usually an extra backup quarterback.
Many college teams have over 100 players on their roster. High school and youth teams typically have fewer players, with restrictions set by local leagues.
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