All-purpose yards or all-purpose yardage is a

gridiron football Gridiron football ( ),"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica'' ...

statistical measure. It is virtually the same as the statistic that some football leagues refer to as combined net yards. In the game of football, progress is measured by advancing the

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

towards the opposing team's goal line. Progress can be made during play by the offensive team by advancing the ball from its point of progress at the start of play known as the

line of scrimmage In gridiron football, a line of scrimmage is an invisible transverse line (across the width of the field) beyond which a team cannot cross until the next play has begun. Its location is based on the spot where the ball is placed after the end ...

or by the defensive team after taking possession of the football via a change of possession (such as punt, kickoff,

interception In Ball game, ball-playing Competitive sport, competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for ...

, punt block, blocked kick or

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful h ...

). When the offensive team advances the ball by rushing the football, the player who carries the ball is given credit for the difference in progress measured in rushing yards. When the offensive team advances the ball by pass reception, the player who catches the reception is given credit for the difference in progress measured in reception yards. Although the ball may also be advanced by penalty, these yards are not considered all-purpose yards. Progress lost via

quarterback sack In gridiron football, a sack occurs when the quarterback (or another offensive player acting as a passer) is tackle (football move), tackled behind the line of scrimmage before throwing a forward pass, when the quarterback is tackled behind the l ...

s is classified variously. Thus, all-purpose yards is a combined total of rushing yards, receiving yards, and all forms of

return yards Return yards is a gridiron football statistical measure that takes several forms. In American and Canadian football, progress is measured by advancing the football towards the opposing team's Goal line (American football), goal line. Progress ca ...

only. Some sources do not specify which types of return yards count toward this total because the most common forms of return yards are kick and punt return yards. Football associations differ on their own specific definitions of the term. The

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

, for example, defines the term as "the combined net yards gained by rushing, receiving, interception (and fumble) returns, punt returns, kickoff returns and runbacks of field goal attempts. All-purpose yardage does not include forward passing yardage" (at pg. 206). The

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL), however, defines combined net yards as "Rushing, receiving, interception returns, punt returns, kickoff returns, and fumble returns". Neither of these totals makes clear how they record yards from blocked punts recovered, blocked field goals, and missed field goal returns.

Records by league

;NCAA Brian Westbrook holds the NCAA all-division record for career all-purpose yards, while

Christian McCaffrey Christian Jackson McCaffrey (born June 7, 1996) is an American professional American football, football running back for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Stanford Cardinal footbal ...

holds the single-season record. ;NFL Jerry Rice holds the NFL career combined net yards record with 23,546 yards, while Darren Sproles set the single-season record in the 2011 season with 2,696 yards. ;CFL Pinball Clemons holds the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL) record for career all-purpose yardage with 25,438 yards which also set a professional football record, while he had 25,610 yards combined between his CFL and NFL play. Chad Owens set a new single-season record during the 2012 season with 3,863 yards, which also set a new professional football record. On 27 October 2017, in a game against the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home game ...

, Diontae Spencer set a new CFL single-game record with 496 all-purpose yards: 133 yards receiving, 165 kickoff return yards, 169 punt return yards and 29 missed field goal return yards.

Notes

{{American football concepts American football terminology Canadian football terminology

Records by league

See also

Notes