This is a list of
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
running back
A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...
s by total career
rushing yards
Rushing means a sudden forward motion, or a surge or onslaught.
Rushing may refer to:
Tactics
* Rush (gridiron football), advancing the ball by running on offense. On defense, charging the quarterback or kicker is a pass rush.
* Human wave atta ...
, and includes the 31 running backs who have rushed for at least 10,000 yards, for which sixteen of them have been inducted into the
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coach ...
.
Emmitt Smith
Emmitt James Smith III (born May 15, 1969) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the Dallas Cowboys. Among other accolades, he is the lea ...
leads with 18,365 yards and is also the postseason leader with 1,586. He has held the all-time rushing yards record since 2002 and is the only player with over 17,000 regular season rushing yards.
Players with at least 10,000 rushing yards
''Through season''
Players with at least 1,000 postseason rushing yards
''Through end of playoffs''
Historical rushing yards leaders
Eight players have been recognized as having held the career rushing yards record in the NFL. Since reliable yardage statistics were not recorded prior to 1932, the first NFL player recognized as the career leader in rushing yards was
Cliff Battles
Clifford Franklin Battles (May 1, 1910 – April 28, 1981) was an American football halfback in the National Football League (NFL). Battles was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1968.
Early life
Battles was born in Akron, Ohio, the ...
, who played from 1932 to 1937 for the
Boston Braves / Boston Redskins / Washington Redskins. He led the NFL with 576 yards in 1932 and held on to the record throughout his career.
Emmitt Smith
Emmitt James Smith III (born May 15, 1969) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the Dallas Cowboys. Among other accolades, he is the lea ...
has held the record since surpassing
Walter Payton
Walter Jerry Payton (July 25, 1953Although most sources at the time of his death gave Payton's birth year as 1954, reliable sources subsequently state he was born in 1953. – November 1, 1999) was an American football running back who played ...
's long-standing total in 2002.
See also
*
List of National Football League records (individual)
Here is a list of the records in the National Football League set by individual players.
Service
* Most seasons: 26, George Blanda, 1949–1958, 1960–1975
* Most seasons, one team: 21, Jason Hanson (Detroit Lions), 1992–2012
*List of NFL p ...
*
List of National Football League rushing champions
In American football, rushing and passing are the two main methods of advancing the ball down the field. A rush, also known as a running play, generally occurs when the quarterback hands or tosses the ball backwards to the running back, but oth ...
*
List of National Football League career rushing touchdowns leaders
*
Notes
References
;General
*
*
;Footnotes
{{NFL records
Rushing yards leaders
*
National Football League lists