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The drag force on an American football is in the range of a coefficient of .05 to .06. If the football is spinning the drag is slightly less.

The drag on a FIFA soccer ball is a coefficient of .25.

The football should travel further. The diameter of an NFL football is about 17.3 centimeters. The diameter of a FIFA soccer ball is roughly 22 centimeters. The greater cross sectional area of the soccer ball creates a thicker wake and more drag, as Sebastian Riese points out in his comment.

Another difference between the balls, which produces less drag on the NFL football, is the shape. The NFL football's wake is significantly thinner than the soccer ball's, to a great extent because of the shape of the ball. The hulls of ships, for example, are designed like a football's shape below the water line toward the stern in order to allow a more laminar flow as the boundary layer separates from the back of the hull.

The drag force on an American football is in the range of a coefficient of .05 to .06. If the football is spinning the drag is slightly less.

The drag on a FIFA soccer ball is a coefficient of .25.

The football should travel further. The diameter of an NFL football is about 17.3 centimeters. The diameter of a FIFA soccer ball is roughly 22 centimeters. The greater cross sectional area of the soccer ball creates a thicker wake and more drag, as Sebastian Riese points out in his comment.

The chief difference between the balls, which produces less drag on the NFL football, is the shape. The NFL football's wake is significantly thinner than the soccer ball's, to a great extent because of the shape of the ball. The hulls of ships, for example, are designed like a football's shape below the water line toward the stern in order to allow a more laminar flow as the boundary layer separates from the back of the hull. Laminar flow creates a thinner wake which produces less turbulent viscous drag.

The drag force on an American football is in the range of a coefficient of .05 to .06. If the football is spinning the drag is slightly less.

The drag on a FIFA soccer ball is a coefficient of .25.

The football should travel further. The diameter of an American football is about 17.3 centimeters. The diameter of a FIFA soccer ball is roughly 22 centimeters. The greater cross sectional area of the soccer ball creates a thicker wake and more drag, as Sebastian Riese points out in his comment.

Another difference between the balls which produces greater drag on the soccer ball is the shape. The American football's wake is significantly thinner than the soccer ball's, to a great extent because of the shape of the ball. The hulls of ships, for example, are designed like a football's shape below the water line toward the stern in order to allow a more laminar flow as the boundary layer separates from the back of the ball.

The drag force on an American football is in the range of a coefficient of .05 to .06. If the football is spinning the drag is slightly less.

The drag on a FIFA soccer ball is a coefficient of .25.

The football should travel further. The diameter of an NFL football is about 17.3 centimeters. The diameter of a FIFA soccer ball is roughly 22 centimeters. The greater cross sectional area of the soccer ball creates a thicker wake and more drag, as Sebastian Riese points out in his comment.

Another difference between the balls, which produces less drag on the NFL football, is the shape. The NFL football's wake is significantly thinner than the soccer ball's, to a great extent because of the shape of the ball. The hulls of ships, for example, are designed like a football's shape below the water line toward the stern in order to allow a more laminar flow as the boundary layer separates from the back of the hull.

The drag force on an American football is in the range of a coefficient of .05 to .06. If the football is spinning the drag is slightly less.

The drag on a FIFA soccer ball is a coefficient of .25.

The football should travel further. The chief difference between the balls which produces greater drag on the soccer ball is the thickness of the wake. The American football's wake is significantly thinner than the soccer ball's, due to the shape of the ball. The hulls of ships, for example, are designed like a football's shape below the water line toward the stern in order to allow a more laminar flow as the boundary layer separates from the back of the ball.

The drag force on an American football is in the range of a coefficient of .05 to .06. If the football is spinning the drag is slightly less.

The drag on a FIFA soccer ball is a coefficient of .25.

The football should travel further. The diameter of an American football is about 17.3 centimeters. The diameter of a FIFA soccer ball is roughly 22 centimeters. The greater cross sectional area of the soccer ball creates a thicker wake and more drag, as Sebastian Riese points out in his comment.

Another difference between the balls which produces greater drag on the soccer ball is the shape. The American football's wake is significantly thinner than the soccer ball's, to a great extent because of the shape of the ball. The hulls of ships, for example, are designed like a football's shape below the water line toward the stern in order to allow a more laminar flow as the boundary layer separates from the back of the ball.