Impetus

In American football, “impetus” refers to the force or energy that causes the ball to move in a particular direction. Specifically, suppose a receiving team member touches the ball during a punt, kickoff, or other types of the free kick, and then the ball goes out of bounds, or the kicking team legally recovers it. In that case, the receiving team is deemed to have given the ball “impetus.” This means the kicking team gains possession of the ball where it went out of bounds or was recovered rather than where the touching occurred.

For example, if a kickoff is received by a member of the receiving team at the 5-yard line and then bounces out of bounds at the 10-yard line, the kicking team would be awarded possession of the ball at the 10-yard line because the receiving team gave the ball impetus by touching it.