15 best quarterbacks in NFL history, ranked

Highlights

• Stats often only tell part of the story when determining the greatest NFL quarterbacks of all time.
• Impact beyond stats and individual accolades such as leadership and innovation matter.
• GIVEMESPORT presents the 15 best quarterbacks in NFL history.

Selecting the best quarterbacks in NFL history is undoubtedly a challenging process, as one has to consider various factors and criteria.

Statistics certainly have to play a role, as passing yards, touchdown passes, and completion percentage help provide a quantitative measure of a quarterback’s performance. Setting or breaking records is also a significant factor. But stats often only tell part of the story.

Winning matters. That’s just the way it goes in sports. As it pertains to the NFL, winning Super Bowls and leading teams to playoff victories are often crucial factors in evaluating a quarterback’s greatness.

However, one can’t simply say that certain signal-callers belong among the best quarterbacks in NFL history due to a Super Bowl win or two. With all due respect, is Eli Manning one of the greatest of all time? No, he’s not. It’s not that those two title wins with the New York Giants weren’t incredible, but one has to look at the entire body of work. It’s the same reason you won’t see four-time Super Bowl winner Terry Bradshaw on this list.

One has to consider individual accolades, such as NFL MVPs or All-Pro selections. There’s longevity and consistency. A player’s overall impact on the game as a whole has to factor in as well, as one has to evaluate a quarterback’s influence on the game beyond statistics, such as innovation in playing style, leadership qualities, and impact on the team’s success.

One has to assess a quarterback’s overall skill set, including arm strength, accuracy, decision-making, mobility, and the ability to perform in critical moments. Different eras, of course, have different standards. What was the level of competition faced? What was their cultural impact on the game? The list goes on.

With all that said and taking all of these factors into account, here’s a look at the 15 best quarterbacks in NFL history.

15 Fran Tarkenton

Tarkenton is seen by most as the first true dual-threat QB in NFL history

While dual-threat quarterbacks are common in today’s NFL, that wasn’t the case back in the ’60s and ’70s. Fran Tarkenton changed that.

While sadly known as the first NFL QB to lose three Super Bowls, Tarkenton should be viewed as a pioneer who revolutionized the position by using his legs to extend plays, which has obviously become a hallmark of the modern quarterback.

A starter in each of his 18 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings (1961-1966, 1972-1978) and New York Giants (1967-1971), Tarkenton was a nine-time Pro Bowler, a two-time All-Pro selection, and was named NFL MVP in 1975, his 15th season in the league. The former Georgia Bulldog also impressively led the league in passing in his 18th and final year, throwing for a career-high 3,468 yards.

Tarkenton retired as the all-time leader in passing yards (47,003) and touchdown passes (342) and still ranks among the top 15 in both categories to this day. He also retired as the all-time leader in rushing yards for a quarterback (3,674) and continues to rank in the top 10 in that category as well.

14 Otto Graham

Graham made 10 title game appearances in 10 seasons

Many may not agree with this selection, but there’s no denying the impact Otto Graham made on the game of football. There’s also this little nugget to consider: in 10 seasons with the Cleveland Browns, Graham took his team to the title game 10 times. That’s absurd, no matter the era.

Sure, his first four seasons were when the Browns were members of the All-American Football Conference, which the NFL absorbed in 1950. But in those four seasons, Cleveland won the AAFC Championship all four years, with Graham leading the league in passing three times.

Graham’s success continued into the NFL as he led the Browns to the 1950 NFL Championship, throwing for 298 yards and four touchdowns in the title game against the Los Angeles Rams. He also earned the first of six straight All-Pro selections that year.

In the five seasons that followed, the Northwestern alum added two more titles, giving him seven for his career, and was named NFL MVP on three occasions, including his final season in 1955. Graham remains the all-time career leader in yards per pass attempt (9.0). To put that in perspective, only six quarterbacks in NFL history have averaged more than eight yards per attempt.

13 Troy Aikman

Aikman’s simple stats don’t reflect his greatness

Many might think Troy Aikman doesn’t belong among the best quarterbacks in NFL history given that the 1990s Dallas Cowboys relied a bit more on the legs of Emmitt Smith than Aikman’s arm. But it’s not all about quantity with the 1989 No. 1 overall pick; it’s about quality.

Aikman was the quintessential NFL quarterback, a tall and steady presence in the pocket with a strong arm and a rapid release. Sure, the UCLA product only reached the 3,000-yard mark in five of his 12 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. But again, it’s more about quality with Aikman.

As Dallas ran the ball so often, especially in the fourth quarter, as America’s Team was typically well ahead on the scoreboard, he simply didn’t get the chance to bloat his stats. And let’s be honest. A lot of quarterbacks get that opportunity.

When Dallas needed Aikman to step up, he did, especially in the postseason. While many other elite quarterbacks crumbled in the playoffs in the early-to-mid ’90s, Aikman thrived.

In the three games during the Cowboys’ first title run of the decade following the 1992 campaign, Aikman completed 68.5% of his passes for 795 yards with eight touchdowns and zero interceptions. His four-touchdown performance against the Buffalo Bills earned him Super Bowl MVP honors.

Overall, during the Cowboys’ three playoff runs that culminated in a Super Bowl victory, Aikman completed 69.7% of his passes for 2,198 yards with 17 touchdowns against just four picks.

12 Roger Staubach

Staubach made the most of his abbreviated career

Despite not beginning his NFL career until the age of 27 due to his commitments to the Navy, where he won the 1963 Heisman Trophy, Roger Staubach certainly made the most of his 10-year run with the Dallas Cowboys.

Well, it was more like an eight-year run, as he spent the first two seasons splitting time with Craig Morton. At one point, legendary Cowboys head coach Tom Landry even had the two rotating on every single play.

When Staubach finally became the full-time starter in 1971, he went a perfect 10-0 in the regular season and 3-0 in the postseason, leading the Cowboys to a Super Bowl 6 victory over the Miami Dolphins, earning Super Bowl MVP honors in the process. The Vietnam veteran posted a 104.8 passer rating that season, the highest mark of any NFL quarterback during the entire decade.

Staubach led Dallas to three additional Super Bowl appearances as the years progressed, winning a second title following the 1977 season. In the Cowboys’ pair of Super Bowl losses, the combined margin of defeat was just eight points.

In the four title games started by Staubach, Dallas averaged just under 25 points despite facing opposing defenses that ranked third, second, third, and first during those respective seasons, allowing a collective 11.7 points per game.

And despite suffering several concussions during his career, Staubach continued to thrive in his later years, setting career-highs in passing yards and leading the league in passer rating in each of his final two seasons.

11 Steve Young

Young thrived once he got out from under his legendary predecessor’s shadow

If I’m being honest, Steve Young might just be the most complete quarterback in NFL history. Yes, that’s quite a bold assessment, but the BYU alum could truly do it all. He could pass, he could run, and he could pass while on the run. That’s a lethal combination.

Had Young not spent his first two seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who were simply dreadful at that time, and then spent the first several years of his career with the San Francisco 49ers sitting behind Joe Montana, he’d likely rank much higher.

When Young finally did get his chance to shine with the Niners in his fifth year with the team in 1991, he certainly didn’t waste it.

In his first full season as the San Francisco starter in 1992, he went 14-2 and won NFL MVP. He won the award a second time two years later while also leading the Niners to victory in Super Bowl 29, a game in which he threw a record six touchdown passes.

In nine seasons as a starter, Young was a seven-time Pro Bowl selection, a six-time All-Pro selection, a four-time passing touchdowns leader, a five-time completion percentage leader, and a six-time passer rating leader. He’s also the only quarterback in NFL history to lead the league in passer rating for four consecutive seasons (1991-1994).

With 4,239 rushing yards, Young currently sits in sixth place all-time in that category and also ranks among the top five QBs in rushing touchdowns with 43.

10 John Elway

Elway was the first quarterback to start five Super Bowls

Even if John Elway hadn’t won those two Super Bowls at the tail end of his 16-year career with the Denver Broncos, he’d still be on this list. He might not rank as highly, but he’d still be here.

For a while, it seemed as if Elway was destined to take the “close but no cigar” Tarkenton route. Despite not having the most talented roster around him, the No. 1 pick of the famed 1983 NFL Draft class led the Broncos to the Super Bowl three times in his first seven seasons, losing all three by an average of 32 points, with the third instance being the biggest blowout in Super Bowl history.

And while Elway wasn’t the focal point of the Denver offense when he finally got over the hump and hoisted the Lombardi Trophy — that honor belongs to Terrell Davis — his contributions to those title-winning teams can’t be ignored.

One obviously also can’t ignore his 51,475 career passing yards, 300 touchdown passes, 31 fourth-quarter comebacks, nine Pro Bowl selections, three All-Pro selections, and NFL MVP trophy. And those are just regular-season numbers.

Throw in his rocket of a right arm, his mobility, his toughness, and his durability (the only time he played fewer than 12 games was as a rookie), and Elway is easily one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history. Again, that would be true even without the two rings.

9 Brett Favre

Favre was a three-time MVP and the NFL’s version of Cal Ripken Jr.

It’s impossible to speak of durability without mentioning Brett Favre, who made 321 consecutive starts (297 in the regular season, 24 in the playoffs) from 1992 to 2010 with the Green Bay Packers, New York Jets, and Minnesota Vikings.

But being the NFL’s version of Cal Ripken Jr. certainly isn’t the only thing that defines Favre’s career. There’s also the matter of his three consecutive NFL MVP awards (1995-1997), a feat no other player in league history has achieved. Sure, he shared the last one with Barry Sanders as a co-MVP, but it still counts.

He led the Packers to the NFC title game in each of those three seasons, winning the last two, and went 1-1 in the Super Bowl, first defeating the New England Patriots and then losing to Elway’s Broncos. He nearly took Green Bay to a third Super Bowl in his final season with the team in 2007, ultimately losing to the New York Giants in the NFC Championship in one of the coldest games in NFL history.

Favre also nearly reached the Super Bowl in his first year in Minnesota, again losing in overtime in the NFC title game.

Some might argue that Favre doesn’t deserve a spot in the top 10 due to his massive interception total (he has the most in NFL history with 336) and several late-game gaffes in the playoffs. But given his longevity, his individual accolades, the Super Bowl win, and the fact that he threw for 71,838 yards (fourth all-time) and 508 touchdowns (fourth all-time), he belongs.

8 Dan Marino

Marino was the best quarterback in NFL history to never win a Super Bowl

Simply put, Dan Marino is the best quarterback in NFL history never to win a Super Bowl. And it’s nearly impossible to believe that his lone appearance in the Big Game came in just his second season with the Miami Dolphins (his first full year as a starter), which is still one of the most incredible campaigns of all time.

Going into 1984, no quarterback had ever thrown for 5,000 yards, and the record for the most touchdown passes in a single season was 36. En route to winning NFL MVP and leading the Dolphins to the Super Bowl, Marino threw for 5,084 yards and 48 touchdowns, numbers that simply seemed unfathomable in that era.

And while he never quite reached that level again (1986 was close with 4,746 yards and 44 TDs), the Pitt product eclipsed the 4,000-yard mark an additional five times. While he posted incredible career numbers with 61,361 yards and 420 touchdowns, one has to wonder what they would have been had he not injured his Achilles in 1993, after which point he wasn’t quite as explosive.

The closest Marino ever got to the Super Bowl following that 1984 campaign was two AFC Championship Game appearances in 1985 and 1992 — minus that Super Bowl appearance in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, anyway.

7 Aaron Rodgers

Rodgers owns the second-most NFL MVP trophies in history

Some Green Bay Packers fans may not like seeing Aaron Rodgers ahead of Brett Favre on this list. But when you look at the overall body of work, Rodgers simply comes out ahead. Sure, Rodgers was never as durable. But if one were only to go off that criteria, nobody could match up with Favre.

Had Rodgers not won a Super Bowl, it’d be difficult to put him ahead of his predecessor. But he did, so there’s nothing to argue there. It’s still quite vexing how Rodgers never led the Packers to another appearance in the Big Game, given that he took Green Bay to the NFC title game four more times, but that’s how the cookie crumbles sometimes.

Nevertheless, it’s hard to ignore what Rodgers has done throughout his career. For starters, he’s won NFL MVP four times, the second-most in history (and one more than Favre, of course). He’s also a 10-time Pro Bowler and a five-time All-Pro selection.

What truly sets Rodgers apart from Favre (or really any quarterback, for that matter) is his ability to keep the football in his team’s possession. In 255 games for Green Bay, Favre threw 286 interceptions. In 231 games for the Packers, Rodgers threw only 105 interceptions. The difference there is as plain as day. In 15 years as a starter, Rodgers only hit double-digit picks three times.

And while you think about that, think about this. When Rodgers was drafted in 2005, the all-time leader in TD:INT ratio was Steve Young at 2.17:1. Rodgers, easily the all-time leader in the category now, has a career ratio of 4.52:1.

6 Drew Brees

What Brees lacked in size he made up for in talent

At 6 feet and just over 200 pounds, Drew Brees never looked like the prototypical NFL quarterback. In fact, when Brees entered the 2001 NFL Draft after a strong career at Purdue, many teams shied away from him due to his diminutive stature. His arm strength was called into question as well.

But over the course of 20 years, Brees proved time and time again that you can’t judge a book by its cover.

What’s wild is that Brees’ career nearly ended just a few years after it began as he suffered a devastating shoulder injury in his fifth and final season with the then-San Diego Chargers, which prompted the team to hitch its future to Philip Rivers while Brees signed with the New Orleans Saints.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

Not only did Brees become one of the best quarterbacks in the league, he became one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history. Year after year, the Dallas native put up ridiculous numbers and racked up all sorts of individual accolades.

During his 20-year career, Brees was a 13-time Pro Bowler, a five-time All-Pro selection, a seven-time passing yards leader, a six-time completion percentage leader, and a four-time passing touchdowns leader. Let’s also not forget he beat Peyton Manning in the Super Bowl, earning MVP honors in the process.

Brees owns the second-most passing yards in NFL history, the second-most touchdown passes in NFL history, and has the highest completion percentage of any quarterback on this list. And as you can see above, of the 15 5,000-yard seasons in league history, he has five of them. Absurd.

5 Johnny Unitas

Unitas is the only quarterback in NFL history to lead the league in TD passes in four straight seasons

Some would likely argue that an old-time quarterback like Johnny Unitas doesn’t deserve a spot in the top five because he wouldn’t fare well in today’s game. And at 6-foot-1 and 194 pounds, maybe that’s true. But that’s not the point of this exercise. Besides, Brees kinda trumped that whole argument on size.

Sure, some of Unitas’ numbers on a year-to-year basis often wouldn’t even put him in the top 10 or 15 among current QBs in specific categories. But think about this. In 2023, the league leader in touchdown passes was Dak Prescott, who had 36 in 17 games. In 1959, the year he won the first of his three NFL MVPs with the Baltimore Colts, Unitas tossed 32 in 12 games. So there’s that.

Furthermore, one simply can’t deny how he revolutionized the position. He was also the first true clutch signal-caller in NFL history, as his late-game heroics set the tone for those who came after him.

In 18 seasons, Unitas was a 10-time Pro Bowler, an eight-time All-Pro selection, a four-time passing yards leader, a four-time passing touchdowns leader, and, as mentioned, a three-time NFL MVP. And that was in a day when the award wasn’t reserved for quarterbacks like it is now. And as for those passing touchdown titles, the four he won came in consecutive seasons (1957-1960), making him the only quarterback in NFL history to achieve such a feat.

Unitas also led the Colts to three NFL Championships and a victory in Super Bowl 5. Yes, he belongs here.

4 Patrick Mahomes

Mahomes could end his career as the best quarterback in NFL history

While longevity has played a factor in every entry up to this point, there’s no getting around the fact that in just six years as a starter with the Kansas City Chiefs, Patrick Mahomes is already one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history.

And let’s get real here. If his career continues to go the way it already has in such a short time, he will only continue to move up the list.

After sitting behind Alex Smith as a rookie, Mahomes got his shot in 2018 and made the most of it, completing 66% of his passes for 5,097 yards with 50 touchdowns against just 12 picks en route to winning NFL MVP. The following season, he led the Chiefs to their first Super Bowl victory in 50 years. How’s that for making an immediate impact?

In the four seasons since, Mahomes has led the Chiefs to three additional Super Bowl appearances, winning two of them, and is one of just three players with three or more Super Bowl MVP trophies. He also added a second NFL MVP trophy following the 2022 campaign, a season during which he racked up an NFL record 5,608 total yards (passing and rushing).

Mahomes was the fastest to reach 25,000 career passing yards (83 games), the fastest to 200 career passing touchdowns (84 games), and owns the highest career playoff passer rating (105.8) of any QB in history with at least 150 passing attempts.

The scary part is that Mahomes doesn’t turn 30 until September 2025, which means he hasn’t even really hit his prime years yet.

3 Peyton Manning

Manning is the only five-time NFL MVP in history

If this list were based on overall talent and only the regular season, Peyton Manning would probably be the best quarterback in NFL history. But as everything has to be taken into account, he’ll have to settle for the third spot.

Expectations were sky-high for Manning when the Indianapolis Colts selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in 1997. And minus a rough rookie season in which he threw a league-high 28 picks, the New Orleans native somehow exceeded them.

In 13 seasons with the Colts, Manning was a four-time NFL MVP, an 11-time Pro Bowler, an eight-time All-Pro selection, a two-time passing yards leader, a three-time passing touchdowns leader, a three-time passer rating leader, and made a pair of Super Bowl appearances, winning one.

In his second act with the Denver Broncos after missing an entire season due to a career-threatening neck injury, Manning added another three Pro Bowl nods, two more All-Pro selections, and another pair of Super Bowl appearances, again going 1-1.

In 2013, just two years removed from the possibility of never playing again, Manning set new single-season records for passing yards (5,477) and passing touchdowns (55) en route to adding another NFL MVP win to his resume, making him the only player in history to win the award five times.

2 Joe Montana

An undefeated Super Bowl record doesn’t define Joe Cool

Many point to Joe Montana’s perfect 4-0 record in the Super Bowl as the reason for placing him among the greatest QBs in NFL history. Some have even argued that stat alone should put him in the No. 1 spot.

But, again, if that were the only criteria, you’d see Terry Bradshaw on this list. And for those wondering, if this list included the top 20 or 25, you would see Bradshaw here. But I digress.

Yes, Montana’s Super Bowl record played a factor in his ranking. It’d be irresponsible if it didn’t. But four rings aren’t the only things that define the original Joe Cool.

The NFC was absolutely stacked in the 1980s. Think about it. The Chicago Bears, who many believe had the greatest single-season squad in the history of football in 1985, only won one Super Bowl. That alone tells you all you need to know. So Montana leading the San Francisco 49ers to four championships during that decade was ridiculous.

Yes, the Notre Dame product was surrounded with weapons. But let’s not forget he won his first two titles without the services of Jerry Rice, who didn’t join the team until 1985.

Montana didn’t have the arm that John Elway had. He was never as mobile as Steve Young. But he had a way of making the difficult throws look easy. And while his regular-season stats sometimes didn’t match up to those of his contemporaries, he turned it on when he needed to in the playoffs.

In the three postseason games that led to his fourth title following the ’89 campaign, Montana completed 78.3% of his passes for 800 yards with 11 touchdowns and no interceptions to earn a 146.4 passer rating. That’s video game stuff right there, folks.

One also shouldn’t forget that the two-time NFL MVP also took the Kansas City Chiefs to their first AFC Championship Game since the merger following the 1993 season. Let’s also remember that he bested Young in their only head-to-head matchup in 1994, one of just three losses for the Niners that year.

1 Tom Brady

As if could be anyone else

As if there were ever going to be anyone else at No. 1.

Like Montana, Tom Brady never had the strongest arm. Truth be told, the comparison between Montana and Elway could be similarly applied to Brady and Peyton Manning. And TB12 certainly wasn’t mobile, although he did pick up some critical first downs with his legs when he needed to over the years.

While not a popular argument among some, I’ve long maintained that Michael Jordan isn’t the most talented player in NBA history. And the same goes for Brady among NFL quarterbacks. But these guys got the most out of every single player around them, and that’s what sets them apart.

With all due respect to a guy like Wes Welker, he doesn’t have five 1,000-yard seasons with anyone but Brady under center. While other quarterbacks are given starts, TB12 made stars. Okay, you can’t really include Randy Moss, but you get the point.

Leadership is an invaluable quality, and there was no better leader than Tom Brady. Like Jordan, he demanded the best of his teammates, and he got it.

Early in his career, Brady wasn’t overly explosive and didn’t need to be. But he came up big when it mattered and won three titles in his first four seasons as a starter.

As the game began to change, the Michigan alum adapted, as evidenced by his 4,806-yard, 50-touchdown campaign in 2007, leading the New England Patriots to a 16-0 regular-season record. That was also the first of his three NFL MVP wins.

From there, Brady simply got better. Maybe the numbers weren’t as gaudy on an annual basis, but he just became smarter than every other quarterback in the league. Remember earlier discussing Aaron Rodgers’ impressive TD:INT ratio?

As the Pats didn’t win the Super Bowl following the 2010 season, it’s sometimes easy to forget that it was one of Brady’s best campaigns, as he threw 36 touchdowns against four picks, giving him a 9:1 ratio. In 2016, he had 28 TDs and two picks. 14:1? Come on.

And his overall tenacity and ability in the clutch? Forget about it. Ask the Atlanta Falcons how safe it was to get a lead on that guy.

Had Brady retired after his run with the Patriots, he’d still sit atop the list. But the fact that he took his talents to Tampa Bay and won a Super Bowl with the Buccaneers in his very first season simply solidified his spot.

23 seasons. The most passing yards in NFL history. The most touchdown passes in NFL history. The most regular-season wins in NFL history. The most playoff wins in NFL history. Seven Super Bowl wins. Five Super Bowl MVPs. The list goes on.

Again, as if it were ever going to be anyone else at No. 1 besides Tom Brady.

All stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference unless stated otherwise.