NFL venue data
Denver's Mile High Altitude Advantage: What the Data Actually Shows
By OverUnderWeather Research Desk
No NFL venue trades on its altitude like Denver. The sign outside the visitors' locker room — 'Elevation 5,280 feet, altitude sickness is real' — is part warning, part theatre. We checked 165 Broncos home games and 606 field-goal attempts at Mile High: the kicking effect is real and large, the wins effect is smaller than the myth.
The short answer
5,280 ft — air roughly 17% thinner than at sea level. No other NFL venue is close.
50+ yard field goals: 68.0% made in Denver vs 62.4% at other outdoor venues (125 vs 1,833 attempts).
Broncos 99-66 at home since 2006 (60.0%), +2.8 avg margin vs +2.1 league-wide outdoor.
Altitude moves the kicking game clearly. The home-win edge exists but is modest and not adjusted for team strength.
Why 5,280 feet changes the game
At one mile above sea level, air pressure is low enough that two things happen. First, the football meets less resistance, so kicks and deep passes carry further — punters and kickers genuinely gain distance. Second, there is less oxygen per breath: visiting players run a higher heart rate for the same effort and recover more slowly between snaps, which is why the fourth quarter in Denver feels different to the first.
Acclimation takes days to weeks, and visiting teams almost never have that long — most fly in a day or two before kickoff. Denver's roster lives and trains at altitude all season, which is the biological core of the supposed advantage.
The kicking effect: real and measurable
Every field-goal attempt in our database, by distance band:
| Distance | Denver | Other outdoor | Indoor control |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 40 yards | 94.9% (315) | 94.2% (6934) | 94.8% (3056) |
| 40–49 yards | 75.9% (166) | 77.7% (3700) | 81.2% (1742) |
| 50+ yards | 68% (125) | 62.4% (1833) | 69.6% (1127) |
From 50 yards and beyond, Denver kickers convert 68.0% against 62.4% at other outdoor stadiums — a 5.6-point gap on 125 Denver attempts, close to the indoor control rate of 69.6%. Under 40 yards the groups are identical, which is what you would expect if altitude only matters when the kick is long enough for drag to bite. Coaches know it too: 20.6% of all Denver attempts are from 50+, versus 14.7% elsewhere.
But the altitude helps both teams' kickers
| Kickers at Mile High | 50+ yd | 40–49 yd |
|---|---|---|
| Visiting kickers at Mile High | 78.7% (61) | 72.5% (91) |
| Broncos kickers at Mile High | 57.8% (64) | 80% (75) |
Visiting kickers actually made a higher share of their 50+ yard attempts at Mile High than Denver's own kickers did — 78.7% against 57.8%. Both groups are around 60 kicks, so this split is directional only, but the point stands: thin air is physics, not a home-team privilege. Where Denver's edge is supposed to live is in legs and lungs, not the kicking game.
The wins effect: smaller than the myth
| Group | Games | Home win rate | Avg home margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Denver home games | 165 | 60% | +2.84 |
| All other outdoor venues | 3,465 | 55.9% | +2.11 |
Denver's home win rate of 60.0% and +2.84 average margin since 2006 sit above the other-outdoor baseline of 55.9% and +2.11 — but the gap is roughly three-quarters of a point, and this comparison is not adjusted for team strength. The Broncos have fielded some outstanding home teams in that span. Altitude plausibly contributes to the edge; it does not explain most of it.
What actually changes for a game in Denver
- Longer kicking range — expect 50+ yard attempts that would be punts elsewhere, and deeper kickoffs.
- Fourth-quarter fatigue for visitors, especially defensive linemen rotating in thin air.
- Denver's dry air and fast late-season weather swings off the Front Range can matter as much as the altitude itself.
- Snow games are a separate factor — see our NFL snow games guide.
For the live picture before a Broncos home game — temperature, wind and snow risk at kickoff — check the Empower Field at Mile High weather page.
Related NFL weather guides
Method and sources
Broncos regular-season home games at Empower Field at Mile High and Invesco Field from our NFL game history (2006–2026, 165 games), and every field-goal attempt at Empower Field from our kicking database (606 attempts), compared with other outdoor venues and an indoor control group. Elevation figure is the stadium's published 5,280 ft. Groups under 40 observations are labelled directional only. Win-rate and margin comparisons are raw and not adjusted for team strength; the 2026 season is partial. Data queried 11 October 2026. By the OverUnderWeather Research Desk.
Where this is applied
These findings feed the game-time read on every NFL venue page, using the same sample-size and significance rules published here.
OverUnderWeather Research Desk
Independent data analysis on public sports and weather records. Studies match historical game outcomes to archived game-window weather, apply pre-set sample and significance rules, and publish null results when that is what the data show. Editorial policy and corrections log.
Cite this research
Free to republish with a visible credit and a link to this page. Ready-made citations below — click to copy.
Frequently asked
How high is Empower Field at Mile High?
5,280 feet above sea level — exactly one mile, and the highest venue in the NFL by a wide margin. The next-highest NFL stadiums sit below 2,500 feet, so Denver is the only venue where altitude is a genuine physical factor. At that elevation the air is roughly 17% thinner than at sea level.
Does altitude help field goals in Denver?
Yes. In our data, kickers at Mile High made 68.0% of attempts from 50+ yards versus 62.4% at other outdoor stadiums, and 20.6% of all Denver attempts are from 50+ compared with 14.7% elsewhere — coaches attempt longer kicks because the thin air lets the ball carry further.
Do the Broncos win more at home because of altitude?
Denver's home edge is real but modest in our sample: a 60.0% home win rate and +2.8 average margin since 2006, versus 55.9% and +2.1 at other outdoor venues. That gap is not adjusted for team strength, and the Broncos have fielded some excellent home teams in that span, so altitude alone does not explain it.
Does the altitude only help the Broncos?
No — the physics helps whoever is kicking. Visiting kickers at Mile High actually made 78.7% of their 50+ yard attempts in our data, though that group is only 61 kicks, so it is directional only. The thin air does not care which sideline you stand on.
Why do visiting players struggle in Denver?
Less oxygen per breath means a higher heart rate for the same effort and slower recovery between plays. Acclimation takes days to weeks, and visiting teams typically arrive a day or two before kickoff. The fatigue effect is real — it just does not show up as a large scoring or wins effect in the historical record.