Return yards is an American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 and Canadian football

Canadian football

Canadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...

 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. Progress can be made during play by the offensive team by advancing the ball from the its point of progress at the start of play known as the line of scrimmage

Line of scrimmage

In American and Canadian football a line of scrimmage is an imaginary transverse line beyond which a team cannot cross until the next play has begun...

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

Punt (football)

In some codes of football, a punt is a play in which a player drops the ball and kicks it before it touches the ground. A punt is in contrast to a drop kick, in which the ball touches the ground before being kicked....

, kickoff

Kickoff (American football)

A kickoff is a method of starting a drive in American football and Canadian football. Typically, a kickoff consists of one team – the "kicking team" – kicking the ball to the opposing team – the "receiving team"...

, interception, punt block, blocked kick or fumble

Fumble

A fumble in American and Canadian football occurs when a player, who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed or scoring. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking or successful handing that results in loss of player possession...

). When the defensive team advances the ball during play after a change in possession, yardage is credited from the point of the change of possession. Such yardage is termed return yards. Punt returner

Punt returner

Punt returner is a position on special teams in American football.-Description:The role of a punt returner is to catch the ball after it is punted and to give his team good field position by returning it. Before catching the punted ball, the returner must assess the situation on the field while...

s and kick returner

Kick returner

In American and Canadian football, a kick returner is the player on special teams who is primarily responsible to catch kickoffs and attempts to return them in the opposite direction. If the ball is kicked into his own endzone, he must assess the situation on the field while the ball is in the...

s are commonly monitored statistically for their totals and averages. However, other types of return yardage such as interception return yards are also measured because the point on the field where a change in possession occurs is marked.

Note that of the aforementioned forms of return yards, kick return yards and punt return yards result from voluntary change in possession and most of the others result from involuntary forms of change in possession known as turnovers

Turnover (football)

In American football, a turnover occurs when the team with the ball loses possession of the ball, which is then gained by the other team. The two events that are officially classified as "turnovers" are fumbles or interceptions In American football, a turnover occurs when the team with the ball...

. Often kick return and punt return statistics are aggregated. and sometimes they are added to yards from scrimmage

Yards from scrimmage

Yards from scrimmage is an American football and Canadian football statistical measure. In the game of football, progress is measured by advancing the football towards the opposing team's goal line. Progress can be made during play by the offensive team by advancing the ball from the its point of...

 to yield all-purpose yards. When kick return yards and punt return yards are aggregated they are known as combined return yards or more formally, combined kick return yards.