In this paper we examine the detailed theory of the American football in flight, with spin and air
resistance included. We find the theory has much in common with the theory of a gyroscope and also
rocket trajectory with a misaligned thruster. Unfortunately most of the air resistance data, for rocketry
and ballistics, is for speeds of Mach 1 or higher, where the air resistance increases dramatically. We
shall approximate a realistic air resistance, at the slower speeds of football flight, with a drag force
proportional to cross sectional area and either v or v
2
, depending on speed, where v is velocity of the
football. We begin with a discussion of the motion, giving as much detail as possible without the use
of complex analytic calculations. We point out the previous errors made with moments of inertia and
make the necessary corrections for more accurate results.