List of gridiron football quarterbacks passing statistics

A banner hangs in the Rogers Centre to commemorate Damon Allen's record-breaking pass in 2006.

Derek Carr is the newest player added.

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]}

All-time outdoor professional quarterback passing statistics

Updated through current season; minimum 40,000 passing yards.

Bold and highlight denotes an active player.

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.

North American outdoor gridiron football leagues

The following leagues are eligible for inclusion for statistical purposes:

• National Football League (NFL), since 1920
• Canadian Football League (CFL) and predecessors, 1929–2019, 2021–¹
• Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional (LFA), 2016–2019, 2022–
• UFL and its component XFL and USFL conferences, 2020, 2022-present²

The following former leagues include statistics for players who attained the minimum 40,000 passing yards:

• United States Football League (USFL), 1983–1985, 2022–2023
• NFL Europe (NFLE), 1991–1992; 1995–2007
• United Football League (UFL), 2009–2012
• Alliance of American Football (AAF), 2019²

Notes:

• ¹ The CFL's East Division has existed since 1907 but did not legalize the forward pass until 1929.
• ² To date, these leagues have not had any quarterbacks whose career statistics rank high enough to qualify for this list. Quarterbacks who played in these leagues are still active in professional football and thus, in theory, could appear on this list in the future.
• The inclusion of a league in this list does not imply major or minor league status. No players who played in the American Football League threw for 40,000 career yards, even as NFL and CFL quarterbacks from the same era achieved that feat.

Addendum

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:

• Ricky Ray has 1,296 additional passing yards from his time with the Fresno Frenzy of AF2 which was a league of indoor gridiron football. ^[37] These passing yards are not included in the totals above since this list consists only outdoor gridiron football statistics and because AF2, the extinct minor league of the defunct Arena Football League, played at a semi-professional level. (Ray, though he was on the 53-man roster of the NFL's New York Jets in 2004, spent the entire season as the third-string quarterback and never took a snap or threw a pass during his time in the NFL.)
• Kurt Warner has 44,931 gridiron passing yards. However, this list consists only outdoor gridiron football. His outdoor gridiron football statistics from his time in the NFL (32,344 passing yards) ^[38] and his time with the Amsterdam Admirals of NFL Europe (2,101 passing yards) ^[39] totals 34,445 outdoor gridiron passing yards. He also passed for 10,486 yards as a member of the Iowa Barnstormers of the Arena Football League, which is played indoors. ^[39]
• Aaron Garcia has 62,180 gridiron passing yards. However, all of his totals were accumulated in the now-defunct Arena Football League (AFL), an indoor league. Six other AFL players (Mark Grieb, Clint Dolezel, Andy Kelly, Sherdrick Bonner, John Dutton, Tommy Grady) have amassed over 40,000 gridiron football passing yards indoors ^[40] (Grieb has an additional 499 yards ^[41] for his play with the Scottish Claymores of NFL Europe and 408 yards for his play with the Las Vegas Outlaws of the original 2001 version of the XFL, while Kelly has additional yardage from his time with the Rhein Fire of NFL Europe, then known as the World League. Dutton reached 40,000 combined with his one year in the Indoor Football League. Grady completed his milestone during his time in the National Arena League.).

See also

• List of National Football League passing yardage leaders
• National Football League passing touchdowns leaders (disambiguation)
• List of National Football League passing completions leaders
• List of National Football League records (individual)
• List of Canadian Football League records (individual)
• List of leagues of American and Canadian football

References

1. "Who is pro football's all-time passing leader? Try Anthony Calvillo". USA Today. October 11, 2011. Retrieved October 11, 2011.
2. "Quarterbacks Who Played in the NFL and CFL". Rutgers.edu. Retrieved September 2, 2009.
3. "PFR Stats Attempts". ProFootballReference.com. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
4. "PFR Stats Completions". ProFootballReference.com. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
5. "PFR Stats Comp %". ProFootballReference.com. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
6. "PFR Stats Touchdowns". ProFootballReference.com. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
7. "PFR Stats Interceptions". ProFootballReference.com. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
8. "PFR Stats Yardage". ProFootballReference.com. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
9. "PFR Stats Rating". ProFootballReference.com. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
10. Drew Brees breaks Anthony Calvillo record
11. Alouettes’ Calvillo breaks pro football's passing record
12. "Argos' Allen is football's top passer". CBC Sports.ca. September 4, 2006. Retrieved August 8, 2008.
13. Saints’ Drew Brees breaks Peyton Manning’s career touchdown pass record
14. Peyton Manning breaks TD record
15. If Warren Moon was to combine his CFL and NFL stats he would rank second in the NFL
16. Drew Brees passes Brett Favre for most career completions
17. CALVILLO WILL NOT RETURN TO ALOUETTES THIS SEASON
18. "Anthony Calvillo CFL Statistics thru 2012". TotalFootballStats.com. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
19. By the numbers: playoff performers
20. Pass Yards Reg+Post
21. "Anthony Calvillo CFL Statistics Summary". CFLStats.com. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
22. "Damon Allen CFL Statistics". TotalFootballStats.com. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
23. "Jim Kelly CFL/NFL Statistics". ProFootballHoF.com. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
24. "Henry Burris CFL/NFL/NFLE Statistics thru 2012". TotalFootballStats.com. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
25. "Henry Burris CFL Statistics". CFL.ca. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
26. "Ricky Ray Stats". CFL.ca. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
27. "Doug Flutie CFL/NFL/USFL Statistics". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on November 2, 2012. Retrieved September 21, 2010.
28. "Danny McManus CFL Stats". TotalFootballStatscom. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
29. "Kevin Glenn CFL stats". CFL.ca. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
30. "Ron Lancaster CFL Statistics". JustSportsStats.com. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
31. "Jim Kelly NFL/USFL Statistics". ProFootballHoF.com. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
34. "Matt Dunigan CFL Ststistics". TotalFootballStats.com. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
35. "Jeff García CFL/NFL/UFL Statistics". TotalFootballStats.com. Archived from the original on January 20, 2013. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
36. "Tracy Ham CFL Statistics". TotalFootballStats.com. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
37. Highlights
38. Kurt Warner – Profile
39. Kurt Warner jersey and football added to Hall's collection
40. AFL Passing Records ^[usurped]
41. Claymores 1998 Statistics