This is a list of gridiron football quarterbacks passing statistics for quarterbacks that have played outdoor professional football in North America. Below is a listing of the combined professional football league leaders for passing yards, passing touchdowns, passing completions, and passing attempts. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
Because indoor football is played on a much shorter field and heavily favors offensive scoring, its records are not included in the main list, but are noted in a separate addendum below; likewise, as is standard for statistical record-keeping, exhibition games, all-star games (such as the Pro Bowl) and preseason contests are not counted.
During the 2021 NFL season, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady passed Drew Brees to become the all-time passing yards leader in professional football league history. [10] Brees had surpassed Anthony Calvillo for the record in the previous season, while Calvillo had surpassed Damon Allen for the record in the 2011 CFL season. [11] Allen broke the previous record held by Warren Moon in 2006. [12] Moon had held the record since 1992 when he surpassed the record set by Ron Lancaster, who had surpassed Johnny Unitas during the 1975 CFL season. Unitas established the record set forth in this listing, while Aaron Rodgers is the leading active QB chasing Brady.
In the 2020 NFL season, Brady surpassed Brees for the all-time passing touchdowns record; Brees had surpassed Peyton Manning for the record the season before. [13] Manning had held the record since the 2014 NFL season when he surpassed Brett Favre's record. [14] Prior to that, Brett Favre held the record since the 2007 NFL season when he surpassed Warren Moon's record. [15] Moon had held the record since 1994 when he surpassed the record set by Fran Tarkenton. Tarkenton had surpassed Johnny Unitas during the 1975 NFL season. Ron Lancaster overtook Tarkenton's lead in the touchdown pass category during the 1977 CFL season. However, Tarkenton retook the lead during the 1978 NFL season. Unitas established the record set forth in this listing.
Brady has held the record for pass completions since passing Brees during the 2021 NFL season; Brees surpassed Brett Favre during the 2018 season. [16] Favre had held the previous record since the 2007 season when he surpassed Warren Moon's record. [15] Moon had held the record since 1992 when he surpassed the record set by Fran Tarkenton. Tarkenton had surpassed Johnny Unitas during the 1975 NFL season. Unitas established the record set forth in this listing.
Brady has held the record for pass completions since passing Brees during the 2021 NFL season; Brees surpassed Brett Favre during the 2018 season. [16] Favre had held the previous record since the 2007 season when he surpassed Warren Moon's record. [15] Moon had held the record since 1992 when he surpassed the record set by Fran Tarkenton. Tarkenton had surpassed Johnny Unitas during the 1975 NFL season. Unitas established the record set forth in this listing. Brady has held the record for pass attempts since the 2020 NFL season when he surpassed Brees, who had surpassed Favre earlier in the same season. Prior to being surpassed by both Brady and Brees during the 2020 NFL season, Favre had held the record since 2008, when he surpassed Warren Moon. [17] [15] Moon had held the record since 1993 when he surpassed the record set by Fran Tarkenton. Tarkenton had surpassed Johnny Unitas during the 1975 NFL season. Unitas established the record set forth in this listing.
Brady, Moon and Unitas are the only gridiron quarterbacks to have held the record in all four of the major passing categories (passing yards, passing touchdowns, pass completions, and pass attempts) at the same time. Brees held each of the four records at one point during his career, but never held all four of them at the same time.
Other categories from this listing that provides all-time leaders include Rodgers, who is pro football's all-time passer rating leader, Ricky Ray, who is the all-time pass completion percentage leader, and Ron Lancaster, who is pro football's all-time interceptions leader.
When considering regular season and post season combined, Brady is the all-time leader in gridiron passing yards with 102,614, which surpassed Calvillo's mark of 82,365 yards in 2019. Brady is also the leader in all the other three major categories when considering post season performances (737 touchdown passes; 8,953 pass completions; 13,971 pass attempts). [18] [19] [20]
Rank | Name | Tenure | Leagues | Attempts | Completions | Comp % | TDs | INTs | Yardage | Passer rating | References |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Tom Brady | 2000–2022 | NFL | 12,050 * | 7,753 * | 64.34 | 649 * | 212 | 89,214 * | 97.17 | [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] |
2 | Drew Brees | 2001–2020 | 10,551 ~ | 7,142 ~ | 67.69 | 571 ~ | 243 | 80,358 ~ | 98.67 | ||
3 | Anthony Calvillo | 1994–2013 | CFL | 9,437 | 5,892 | 62.44 | 455 | 224 | 79,816 ~ | 95.53 | [18] [21] |
4 | Damon Allen | 1985–2007 | CFL | 9,138 | 5,158 | 56.45 | 394 | 278 | 72,381 ~ | 83.82 | [22] |
5 | Peyton Manning | 1998–2015 | NFL | 9,380 | 6,125 | 65.30 | 539 ~ | 251 | 71,940 | 96.46 | [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] |
6 | Brett Favre | 1991–2010 | 10,169 ~ | 6,300 ~ | 61.95 | 508 ~ | 336 | 71,838 | 86.03 | ||
7 | Warren Moon | 1977–2000 | NFL/CFL | 9,205 ~ | 5,357 ~ | 58.20 | 435 ~ | 310 | 70,553 ~ | 84.24 | [23] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] |
8 | Ben Roethlisberger | 2004–2021 | NFL | 8,433 | 5,440 | 64.51 | 418 | 211 | 64,088 | 93.49 | |
9 | Henry Burris | 1997–2016 | CFL/NFL/NFLE | 7,576 | 4,711 | 62.18 | 382 | 237 | 64,023 | 92.89 | [2] [24] [25] |
10 | Philip Rivers | 2004–2020 | NFL | 8,134 | 5,277 | 64.88 | 421 | 209 | 63,440 | 95.18 | [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] |
11 | Aaron Rodgers | Since 2005 | 8,245 | 5,369 | 65.12 | 503 | 116 | 62,952 | 102.63 * | ||
12 | Matt Ryan | 2008-2022 | 8,464 | 5,551 | 65.58 | 381 | 183 | 62,792 | 93.59 | ||
13 | Dan Marino | 1983–1999 | 8,358 | 4,967 | 59.43 | 420 | 252 | 61,361 | 86.38 | ||
14 | Ricky Ray | 2002–2018 | CFL | 7,301 | 4,976 | 68.16 * | 324 | 177 | 60,736 | 98.23 ~ | [26] |
15 | Matthew Stafford | Since 2009 | NFL | 8,166 | 5,174 | 63.36 | 377 | 188 | 59,809 | 91.22 | |
16 | Doug Flutie | 1985–2005 | CFL/NFL/USFL | 7,276 | 4,286 | 58.91 | 369 | 237 | 58,179 | 87.82 | [27] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] |
17 | Eli Manning | 2004-2019 | NFL | 8,119 | 4,894 | 60.29 | 366 | 244 | 57,023 | 84.08 | [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] |
18 | Danny McManus | 1988–2006 | CFL/NFL | 6,689 | 3,640 | 54.42 | 259 | 281 | 53,255 | 76.01 | [28] |
19 | Kevin Glenn | 2001–2018 | CFL | 6,434 | 4,068 | 63.23 | 294 | 207 | 52,867 | 90.84 | [29] |
20 | John Elway | 1983–1999 | NFL | 7,250 | 4,123 | 56.87 | 300 | 226 | 51,475 | 79.86 | |
21 | Ron Lancaster | 1960–1978 | CFL | 6,233 | 3,384 | 54.29 | 333 ~ | 396 * | 50,535 ~ | 72.44 | [30] |
22 | Fran Tarkenton | 1961–1978 | NFL | 6,467 ~ | 3,686 ~ | 57.00 | 342 ~ | 266 | 47,003 | 80.35 | [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] |
23 | Carson Palmer | 2003–2017 | 6,307 | 3,941 | 62.49 | 294 | 187 | 46,247 | 87.89 | ||
24 | Vinny Testaverde | 1987–2007 | 6,701 | 3,787 | 56.51 | 275 | 267 | 46,233 | 75.00 | ||
25 | Russell Wilson | Since 2012 | 6,001 | 3,882 | 64.69 | 350 | 111 | 46,135 | 99.79 | ||
26 | Joe Flacco | Since 2008 | 6,751 | 4,166 | 61.71 | 257 | 162 | 45,697 | 84.39 | ||
27 | Jim Kelly | 1984–1996 | NFL/USFL | 5,933 | 3,604 | 60.74 | 320 | 195 | 45,309 | 88.81 | [31] [3] [32] [5] [6] [33] [8] [9] |
28 | Drew Bledsoe | 1993-2006 | NFL | 6,717 | 3,839 | 57.15 | 250 | 115 | 44,611 | 84.51 | [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] |
29 | Matt Dunigan | 1983–1996 | CFL | 5,476 | 3,057 | 55.83 | 306 | 211 | 43,857 | 84.55 | [34] |
30 | Jeff Garcia | 1994–2011 | CFL/NFL/UFL | 5,955 | 3,645 | 61.21 | 272 | 146 | 43,300 | 88.90 | [35] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] |
31 | Dan Fouts | 1973-1987 | NFL | 5,604 | 3,297 | 58.83 | 254 | 242 | 43,040 | 80.23 | [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] |
32 | Kirk Cousins | Since 2008 | 5,630 | 3,768 | 66.93 | 288 | 126 | 42,979 | 97.38 | ||
33 | Derek Carr | Since 2014 | 5,785 | 3,765 | 65.08 | 257 | 112 | 41,245 | 92.81 | ||
34 | Kerry Collins | 1995–2011 | 6,261 | 3,487 | 55.69 | 208 | 196 | 40,922 | 73.76 | ||
35 | Joe Montana | 1979–1994 | 5,391 | 3,409 | 63.24 | 273 | 139 | 40,551 | 92.26 | ||
36 | Tracy Ham | 1987–1999 | CFL | 4,945 | 2,670 | 53.99 | 284 | 164 | 40,534 | 86.56 | [36] |
37 | Johnny Unitas | 1956-1973 | NFL | 5,186 * | 2,830 | 54.57 | 290 | 253 * | 40,239 | 78.20 | [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] |
^* = Leader in category for outdoor gridiron football. ^~ = Former leader in category for outdoor gridiron football.
Notes:
For the purpose of this list, indoor American football statistics have been excluded. While overall passing yards are not substantially greater in a given indoor football game compared to a CFL or NFL contest, the number of touchdowns in that form of the sport is far higher, and a list including them would invariably favor indoor football quarterbacks in the number of touchdowns thrown. Quarterbacks who would qualify for this list in yardage statistics if indoor football statistics are included are listed here separately: