What is the unsuccessful handing of a football to your teammate called?

The act of unsuccessfully handing a football to a teammate is referred to as a fumble. A fumble occurs when a player loses possession of the ball while either running with it or attempting to hand it off, and the ball is then considered live. This means that either team has the opportunity to recover it.

In this scenario, even if the intent was to hand off the ball to a teammate, if the exchange is mishandled and results in the ball touching the ground, it’s classified as a fumble, as it involves a loss of possession as part of the play. This is distinct from other terms like incompletion, which specifically refers to an unsuccessful forward pass, or turnover, which is a more general term for giving away possession, but would only apply to a fumble if it were recovered by the opposing team. Pass interference involves illegal contact during a passing play and isn't relevant to the question about the handoff situation. Thus, the appropriate term for this action is a fumble.