User:Nhb55840/sandbox/List of professional gridiron football players with 20,000 career all-purpose yards

This is a list of professional football players with a career total of over 20,000 all-purpose yards,^[1] mostly comprised of players from the National Football League, Canadian Football League, and Arena Football League. Through the end of the 2021 season, only thirteen players have achieved this milestone. All statistics are combined between professional leagues for each player.

Players listed in bold are currently active.

Key[edit]

†	Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame
††	Inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame
†††	Inducted into the Arena Football Hall of Fame

List of professional gridiron football players with 20,000 career all-purpose yards[edit]

Rank^[2]	Player	Position(s) regularly played	Seasons by team	Total all-purpose^[1] yards gained^[3]	Total rushing yards gained^[3]	Total receiving yards gained^[3]	Total interception return yards gained^[3]	Total punt return yards gained^[3]	Total kickoff return yards gained^[3]	Total recovered fumble return yards gained^[3]	Total missed field goal return^[4] yards gained^[3]
1	Pinball Clemons^††	Running back Punt returner Kick returner	Kansas City Chiefs (1987) Toronto Argonauts (1989–2000)	25,610	5,348	7,015	0	6,187	6,352	0	708
2	Gizmo Williams^††	Wide receiver Punt returner Kick returner	Memphis Showboats (1985) Edmonton Eskimos (1986–1988, 1990–2000) Philadelphia Eagles (1989)	25,571	105	3,755	0	11,751	8,314	0	1,646
3	Herschel Walker	Running back	New Jersey Generals (1983–1985) Dallas Cowboys (1986–1989, 1996–1997) Minnesota Vikings (1989–1991) Philadelphia Eagles (1992–1994) New York Giants (1995)	25,283	13,787	6,343	0	0	5,153	0	0
4	Mike Pringle^††	Running back	Atlanta Falcons (1990–1991) Sacramento Surge (1992) Edmonton Eskimos (1992) Sacramento Gold Miners (1993) Baltimore Stallions (1994–1995) Montreal Alouettes (1996–2002) Edmonton Eskimos (2003–2004)	23,825	16,940	3,906	0	0	2,979	0	0
5	Jerry Rice^†	Wide receiver	San Francisco 49ers (1985–2000) Oakland Raiders (2001–2004) Seattle Seahawks (2004)	23,546	645	22,895	0	0	6	0	0
6	Brian Mitchell	Running back Punt returner Kick returner	Washington Redskins (1990–1999) Philadelphia Eagles (2000–2002) New York Giants (2003)	23,330	1,967	2,336	0	4,999	14,014	14	0
7	T. T. Toliver	Wide receiver	Tampa Bay Storm (2002–2005, 2007, 2014–2016) Nashville Kats (2005–2006) Orlando Predators (2007–2013) Washington Valor (2017–2018)	22,244	319	16,488	58	0	5,379	0	0
8	Walter Payton^†	Running back	Chicago Bears (1975–1987)	21,803	16,726	4,538	0	0	539	0	0
9	Emmitt Smith^†	Running back	Dallas Cowboys (1990–2002) Arizona Cardinals (2003–2004)	21,564	18,355	3,224	0	0	0	(15)^[5]	0
10	Barry Wagner^†††	Wide receiver Defensive back	Orlando Predators (1992–1999, 2007) Chicago Bears (1992) San Jose SaberCats (2000–2006)	21,040	855	13,379	527	0	6279	0	0
11	Stefan Logan	Running back	BC Lions (2008, 2013–2014) Pittsburgh Steelers (2009) Detroit Lions (2010–2012) Montreal Alouettes (2015–2019) Ottawa Redblacks (2019)	20,709	2,151	1,023	0	5,979	11,026	4	526
12	George LaFrance^†††	Offensive specialist	Detroit Drive (1988–1993) Tampa Bay Storm (1994–1999) New Jersey Red Dogs (2000)	20,343	44	8,888	49	0	11,362	0	0
13	George Reed^††	Running back	Saskatchewan Roughriders (1963–1975)	20,058	16,116	2,772	0	0	1,168	2	0

Other facts[edit]

Each player has played in and won at least one Super Bowl, Grey Cup, or ArenaBowl, the only two exceptions being Herschel Walker and Stefan Logan. These two players are also the two of four players to not be inducted into any Hall of Fames. Brian Mitchell made his career as a special teams returner in the NFL, despite being the leader in return yards, has never been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. T. T. Toliver is statistically the greatest wide receiver in Arena Football League history, with the most all-purpose yards in league history; however, his career ended with the league folding, putting a hold on the AFL Hall of Fame. Hershel Walker was nominated to the First Team All-Time All-USFL Team.

Several players came very close to the 20,000 all-purpose yards milestone, Frank Gore for example retired 8 yards short. Many of these players who fell short, such as Gore (20,821 yds), surpassed the milestone with their playoff all-purpose yardage included. Some of these players include Darren Sproles (22,186 yds), Tim Brown (20,940 yds), Marshall Faulk (20,311 yds), and Steve Smith Sr. (21,386 yds).

External links[edit]

Enumeration of career all-purpose yardage leaders from the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Pro-Football Reference
ArenaFan
Pro Football Archives
Stats Crew

^ ^a ^b All-purpose yards are those gained by an offensive player from scrimmage, viz., those gained by a player's rushing or receiving a pass; a defensive player by return of interception or fumble; or by any player by return of punt, kickoff, or recovered fumble.
^ Rank is as of Week 18 of the 2021 season.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Total is through Week 18 of the 2021 season.
^ Missed field goal return yards are only a stat in the CFL; missed field goals in the Arena Football League are just applied to kickoff return yards. NFL applies missed field goal returns as an "other" category, as they are much more rare.
^ Parentheses denote the negativity of the enclosed net yardage total.

[all-purpose-1] All-purpose yards are those gained by an offensive player from scrimmage, viz., those gained by a player's rushing or receiving a pass; a defensive player by return of interception or fumble; or by any player by return of punt, kickoff, or recovered fumble.

[2] Rank is as of Week 18 of the 2021 season.

[current-3] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Total is through Week 18 of the 2021 season.

[4] Missed field goal return yards are only a stat in the CFL; missed field goals in the Arena Football League are just applied to kickoff return yards. NFL applies missed field goal returns as an "other" category, as they are much more rare.

[negative-5] Parentheses denote the negativity of the enclosed net yardage total.

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[2]

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[4]

[5]

v t e Members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Quarterbacks	Aikman Baugh Blanda Bradshaw Clark Conzelman L. Dawson Driscoll Elway Favre Fouts Friedman Graham Griese Herber Jurgensen J. Kelly Layne Luckman Manning Marino Montana Moon Namath A. Parker Stabler Starr Staubach Tarkenton Tittle Unitas Van Brocklin Warner Waterfield S. Young
Running backs	M. Allen Battles Bettis J. Brown Campbell Canadeo Csonka T. Davis Dickerson Dorsett Dudley Faulk Gifford Grange Guyon F. Harris Hinkle Hornung James J. H. Johnson L. Kelly Lambeau Leemans F. Little Martin Matson McAfee McElhenny J. McNally Moore Motley Nagurski Nevers Payton Perry Pollard Riggins B. Sanders Sayers Simpson E. Smith Strong Ji. Taylor T. Thomas Thorpe Tomlinson Trippi Van Buren Walker
Wide receivers / ends	Alworth Badgro Berry Biletnikoff Branch T. Brown Bruce Carmichael Carter Chamberlin Fears Flaherty Halas Harrison Hayes Hewitt Hirsch Hutson Irvin A. Johnson C. Johnson Joiner Largent Lavelli Lofton Maynard McDonald Millner Mitchell Monk Moss Owens Pearson Pihos A. Reed Rice Speedie Stallworth Swann C. Taylor Warfield
Tight ends	Casper Ditka Gonzalez Mackey Newsome C. Sanders Sharpe J. Smith Winslow
Offensive linemen	L. Allen Boselli B. Brown R. Brown Covert Creekmur D. Dawson DeLamielleure Dierdorf Faneca Gatski Gregg Grimm Hannah Hickerson Hill Hutchinson S. Jones W. Jones Kramer Langer L. Little Mack Matthews Mawae McCormack McDaniel Mix Munchak Muñoz Ogden Otto Pace J. Parker Ringo Roaf Shaw A. Shell Shields J. Slater St. Clair Stanfel Stephenson J. Thomas Tingelhoff Upshaw Webster Wright Yary Zimmerman
Pre-modern era two-way players	Edwards Fortmann Healey Hein Henry Hubbard Kiesling Kinard Lyman Michalske Musso Owen D. Slater Stydahar Trafton Turner Wojciechowicz
Defensive linemen	Atkins Bethea Buchanan Culp W. Davis Dean Dent Doleman Donovan Eller Ford Freeney J. Greene Haley Hampton Humphrey D. Jones Jordan Karras Kennedy Klecko Lilly Long Marchetti McMichael Nomellini Olsen Page Peppers Randle Robustelli Sapp Selmon Seymour B. Smith Sprinkle Stautner Strahan Ja. Taylor Weinmeister Ra. White Re. White B. Willis B. Young Youngblood
Linebackers	Bednarik Bo. Bell Brazile Brooks Buoniconti Butkus Carson Connor George Gradishar K. Greene Ham Hanburger Hendricks Howley Huff Jackson Lambert Lanier Lewis Mills Nitschke Richter D. Robinson Schmidt Seau Singletary L. Taylor D. Thomas Z. Thomas Tippett Urlacher Ware Wilcox P. Willis
Defensive backs	Adderley Atwater Bailey Barber Barney Blount W. Brown J. Butler L. Butler Christiansen Dawkins Dillon Easley Green C. Harris Haynes Houston J. Johnson Krause Lane Lary Law LeBeau Lott Lynch Polamalu E. Reed Renfro Revis Riley J. Robinson D. Sanders D. Shell E. Thomas Tunnell Wehrli Williams L. Wilson Wood C. Woodson R. Woodson
Special teams	Andersen Groza Guy Hester Stenerud
Coaches	G. Allen P. Brown Chamberlin Conzelman Coryell Cowher Dungy Ewbank Flaherty Flores Gibbs Gillman Grant Halas J. Johnson Lambeau Landry Levy Lombardi Madden Neale Noll Owen Parcells Shula Stram Vermeil Walsh
Contributors	Beathard Be. Bell Bidwill Bowlen Brandt Carr A. Davis DeBartolo Finks Halas Hunt J. Jones Lambeau T. Mara W. Mara Marshall A. McNally Nunn Polian Ray Reeves A. Rooney D. Rooney Rozelle E. Sabol S. Sabol Schramm Tagliabue R. Wilson Wolf G. Young
Italics denotes members who have been elected, but not yet inducted.

v t e Members of the Arena Football Hall of Fame
Players	Aikens Bembery Bennett Bonner Bowden Brown Cooper Corker Dixon Dolezel Fleming Gatewood Gayles Gruden Hammond Harrell Hernandez Hopkins LaFrance March McMillen Moore-Brown Mullen Randle Rettig Roehlk Roquemore Samuels O. Smith R. Smith Thomas Wagner C. Walls H. Walls Warner
Coaches	Arbet Dailey Hohensee Marcum Moss White
Contributors	Foster Ilitch Kurz Mazula Niro Nudo Paganelli Vitto

v t e Members of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame
Players	Abendschan Ah You Aldag D. Allen Anderson Atchison B. Bailey Baker Barrow Bass Batstone Battle Beach Benecick Bennett Bonk Bourke Bowman Box Breen Bright C. Brock D. Brock Do. Brown T. Brown Browne Brule Burden Burris Cahoon Calvillo Cameron J. Campbell Casey Charlton Childress Clarke Clements Clemons Coffey Conacher Connop Copeland Cornish Corrigall Covington C. Cox E. Cox R. Craig Crawford Cronin D. Cutler W. Cutler Dalla Riva DiPietro Dixon Dunigan Elgaard Elimimian Eliowitz Emerson Estay Etcheverry Evanshen Fairbanks Faloney Fear Fennell Fernandez Ferraro Ferrone Fieldgate Fleming Flory Da. Flutie Do. Flutie Flynn Frank Fryer Gabriel Gaines Gall George Golab Gorrell Grant Gray Griffing Ham Hanson Harding D. Harris W. Harris Harrison Helton Henley Highbaugh Hinton Holloway Huffman Hufnagel Hugo Ilesic Isbister Jackson Jacobs E. James G. James A. Johnson B. Johnson W. Johnson Ty. Jones Jurasin Kabat Kapp Keeling B. Kelly E. Kelly Kepley Krol Kwong Lapointe Lancaster Lawson Leadlay Lear Lehmann L. Lewis N. Lewis Lumsden Lunsford Luster Luzzi Makowsky McCallum McCance McGill McGowan McManus McQuarters B. Miles R. Miles Mills Mitchell Molson Montford Moon F. Morris T. Morris Mosca J. Murphy Narcisse Nelson Nettles Neumann O'Quinn Okeke O'Shea Pajaczkowski Jac. Parker Jam. Parker Passaglia Patterson Payton G. Perry N. Perry Phillips A. Pitts E. Pitts Pless Ploen Poplawski Pringle Quilty Racine Raimey Ray Rebholz Reed Reeve Ridgway Rigney Roberts Robinson Romano Rowe Ruby Russel T. Scott V. Scott Shatto Simon Be. Simpson Bo. Simpson Sprague Stegall Steinauer Stevenson Stewart Stirling Sutherin Symons Thelen Thornton Timmis Tindale Tinsley Tommy Trawick Tubman Tucker Urness Uteck Vaughan Vaughn Vavra Vercheval Wagner Walby Walker Weir Welch West Wilkinson G. Williams A. Wilson D. Wilson Winfield Wylie Yochum Young Zambiasi Zock
Builders	Ackles Anselmo Back R. Bailey Ballard Barker Berger Braley Brook D. W. Brown Buono H. Campbell Chipman Clair Connellan Cooper Cosentino Coulter Crighton A. Currie G. Currie Custis Davies DeGruchy Dojack Duggan DuMoulin Dussault Evans Forster Foulds Fracas Fulton Gaudaur Gibson Grant Grey Griffith Halter Hannibal Haylor Hayman Henick Hopson Hufnagel Bi. Hughes Ireland Keys Kimball Knight Kramer Levy Lieberman Loney Matthews McBrien McCaffrey D. McCann McDonald McNaughton McPherson Mitchell Metras Montgomery T. Morris C. Murphy Newton O'Billovich Pistilli Preston Reda A. Ritchie D. Ritchie Rodden Ryan Sazio Schwartz Shaughnessy Shepherd Shivers Shouldice J. Simpson F. Smith L. Smith Slocomb Spencer Spring Stukus P. Taylor Tindall Towriss Uteck Warner Warwick Wetenhall S. Wilson
Media	Afaganis A. Allen P. Allen R. Allen Avery Badham Beamish Bishop Bratina Brisebois Brunt Calcutt Carroll Tom Casey Chevrier Cluff Cole Coleman J. Cox G. Craig Cuthbert Davis DeGeer Dryburgh Dufault Dunnell Esaw Frayne Frewin Gilchrist Good B. Hall V. Hall Hanley Hooper Bo. Hughes Hunt Hunter Hynes Irving D. Isaac M. Isaac Te. Jones Kearney G. Kelly Kent Kielty MacCabe Maki Marsden Marshall Martin Matheson Matsumoto A. McCann McConnell McKnight McLean Melville Miller Milton Moir Naylor Newans O'Brien O'Meara Pascall Pascucci Pawson Picken J. Proudfoot T. Proudfoot Proulx Purcell Ralph Reeve Ruckaber Saunders Schultz Selnes Sgambati Sigurdson Simmons D. Smith M. Smith Stephen Stephenson Stukus Suitor Sullivan Swangard Tait J. Taylor Tucker Ullrich Viney G. Walker H. Walker Ja. Wells Jo. Wells Westwick Willes B. Williams Wittman Zurkowsky

Key[edit]

List of professional gridiron football players with 20,000 career all-purpose yards[edit]

Other facts[edit]

See also[edit]

External links[edit]