In American football, a kickoff is a method of starting a drive-in gridiron football that occurs at the start of each half or after scoring that can be returned for yards. The number of kickoff return yards a player makes is a recorded statistic in football games. Statistics were not recorded until 1941. The history of the returner generally saw receivers used for the position, most notably with Deion Sanders. Only one return specialist has been inducted into the Hall of Fame with Devin Hester. This is a list of National Football League kickoff returners who have led the regular season in kickoff return yards each year. In addition to the overall National Football League (NFL) kickoff return yards leaders, league record books recognize the kickoff return yard leaders of the American Football League (AFL), which operated from 1960 to 1969 before being absorbed into the NFL in 1970. The NFL also recognizes the statistics of the All-America Football Conference, which operated from 1946 to 1949 before three of its teams were merged into the NFL, since 2025.
Bruce Harper and Tyrone Hughes have led the NFL in kickoff return yards three times, more than any other kickoff returner. They are also the only players to lead the league three times consecutively, with Harper doing so from 1977 through 1979 and Hughes doing so from 1994 through 1996. The record for kickoff return yards in a season is held by MarTay Jenkins, who had 2,186 kickoff yards in 2000 for the Arizona Cardinals. He is the only player to record a 2,000 kickoff return yards in a season.
According to Pro Football Reference and The Football Database.