The 50 Greatest Quarterbacks in Pro Football History 

Special to the Denver Broncos Flagship (KOA) 

For the last nine years, I’ve undertaken the impossible challenge of ranking the greatest quarterbacks in pro football history. 

Different players, with different styles, from different eras, with different accomplishments. 

This impossible task is riddled with questions: 

• How can you possibly compare Sammy Baugh to Patrick Mahomes?
• What is more important: Putting up big numbers or winning Championships?
• What do you value more: Volume or efficiency?
• How much of an impact does longevity have?
• What exactly is your criteria?

 

To even have a discussion, I feel it’s important to define my interpretation of the word greatest as it pertains to this list. 

Greatest has been defined as “highest in quality,” “of the highest degree,” and “of superior performance.” 

This list is rooted in on-field performance at the position, which is not to be mistaken for being blindly rooted in statistics. 

Inside the Numbers

Patrick Mahomes put up great numbers in 2020 (108.2 passer rating, 4,740 yards, 38 touchdowns to six interceptions). Was that more impressive than what Russell Wilson put up in a less supportive situation (105.1 passer rating, 4,212 yards, 40 touchdowns to 13 interceptions)? 

Not necessarily. 

Statistics are a footprint of on-field performance, but context is everything. 

For instance, Len Dawson put up much better traditional passing statistics than Joe Namath. Dawson’s career 94-57-8 record, three AFL Championships, and one Super Bowl win easily top Namath’s 62-63-4 record, one AFL Championship, and one Super Bowl win. 

If my list were purely statistics-based, Namath probably wouldn’t be a part of it. 

Context I considered: 

Collectively, Dawson’s Chiefs were a lot better than Namath’s Jets. 

Namath threw more picks, but had elite-level sack avoidance and fumbled a lot less than Dawson did – things that are not reflected in traditional passing statistics. 

Namath was robbed of his prime due to injuries, battled through them, and dominated on the NFL stage after the merger: leading the league in passing yards, touchdown passes, and adjusted net yards per passing attempt in 1972. 

They were both great, but in the end, Namath ranks higher. 

Inside the Film Room 

There is a reason why defensive coaches study All-22 film when preparing to play quarterbacks. I can speak from my own experience, having had the privilege of working as a defensive assistant coach in both the Indoor Football League (IFL) and the European League of Football (ELF). Without coach's film to study, I would not have been able to do my job. Scouting the responsibilities and execution of all eleven players on each side of the football is a tremendous challenge, requiring skill refined over many years with training and repetition. 

I’ve watched every snap Peyton Manning took as a Denver Bronco, every snap Tom Brady took as a Tampa Bay Buccaneer, and every snap Drew Brees took during the final four years of his career. 

Brady was the best decision-maker I’ve ever seen play the game. His pre-snap ability to read body language, understand tendencies, anticipate blitzes, and know where the open spot on the field would be was otherworldly. 

Brees was the most accurate passer I’ve ever seen play the game. He understood the limitations of his arm strength post-labrum surgery and refined his pocket presence and passing mechanics to make sure that he didn’t eat sacks or waste passing attempts. In the short to intermediate range, he tore defenses to pieces by playing a game of percentages, becoming a sharpshooter unlike anything the sport had seen before or since. 

Manning was the greatest information processor I’ve ever seen play the game. He didn’t just understand defensive schemes, diagnose pressures, and give instructions to teammates at the line of scrimmage; he manipulated opponents into and out of position before the snap so that he could come at their throats the moment he touched the football. 

The availability of All-22 film makes it much easier to effectively evaluate quarterbacks today. The advent of analytics, performance measures like DVOA, EPA, Total QBR, PFF grades, and beyond allow us to better quantify the impact of on-field play at the position. 

Unfortunately, resources are not as comprehensive for past generations, and so, reliance on film study (there’s more digitally archived than you’d think), era-adjusted statistics (thank you Pro Football Reference), and conversations I’ve had with players who played with and against these quarterbacks was of considerable importance. 

Hall of Famers Benny Friedman (1927-1934) and Arnie Herber (1930-1940, 1944-45) both deserve recognition as early pioneers of the position, easily worthy of Top-50 recognition adjusted for era. 

But due to the extreme limitations in film and statistics from that time, I’ve made the decision to begin my list with quarterbacks entering professional football in 1937, the year Baugh was drafted sixth overall by Washington. 

The Difficulty of Judging Individual Players in Team Sports 

When evaluating quarterbacks, a B+ performance in an A+ situation resulting in a win isn’t going to impress me as much as A+ performance in a C+ situation resulting in a win or loss. 

This mindset may seem controversial to some, but to me, it’s quite straightforward. 

The most important thing is winning, which presents a tremendous challenge when ranking individual players in team sports. 

Everyone acknowledges that not all quarterbacks are provided with comparable opportunities, situations, and support, so how can team success bereft of context be the ultimate measure when ranking them? 

For me, it cannot. 

Most people agree on the extremes: It can’t just be about rings – few would rank Jim Plunkett and his two Super Bowl wins above Dan Marino’s ringless fingers. By contrast, it can’t be just about numbers either – few would rank Blake Bortles’ 2015 season (4,738 total yards and 37 total touchdowns with a 5-11 record) above Troy Aikman’s 20-touchdown pass, Super Bowl-winning campaign in 1993. 

It’s not the extremes that confuse, it’s the grey area. Where good is good enough, so long as the team achieves its ultimate goal as a collective. 

We often see quarterbacks who may have been the sixth, seventh, or eighth best at the position during a given year celebrated more than their league MVP counterparts, so long as they ended the season hoisting the Lombardi Trophy. 

That is where I push back. 

Were said quarterbacks really the greatest at the position from an on-field contribution standpoint, or were they simply really good with more help than others, playing in more favorable situations? 

It’s worth noting: Brady (seven), Joe Montana (four), Terry Bradshaw (four), and Aikman (three) combined to win 18 Super Bowls. 

In seasons where their supporting defenses slipped outside of the Top-8, they combined to bring home zero rings. 

There’s no ignoring that or pretending it’s a coincidence. 

When a team wins, we can frame individual drives, plays, and moments as being clutch. When a team loses, we can frame individual drives, plays, and moments as being chokes. Both oversimplifications often miss the mark. 

So What About the Bling? 

Years ago, I asked Fran Tarkenton: “How important is winning a Super Bowl in respect to evaluating a quarterback’s individual contribution to his team’s chances of winning?” I cannot help but think about Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson – both of whom made this list – when reflecting upon that question today. 

20 quarterbacks in my Top-50 never won an NFL Championship or Super Bowl. 

That’s 40% of the list, a fairly staggering number. 

Which isn’t to sell short the significance of the Super Bowls won by, say, Jim Plunkett, Jim McMahon, or Nick Foles, none of whom made this list. 

It’s simply a matter of acknowledging the highest level of performance at the position, which often fails to coincide with the timing, coaches, rosters, and breaks that produce Championships. 

Consider this when diving into the legacies of some of the best ever: Did Brady (2001) and Manning (2015) contribute more to their teams’ chances of winning a Super Bowl than Brady (2007) and Manning (2004) did to theirs? 

Of course not. 

Brady is a three-time NFL MVP, never winning a Super Bowl when he was the best player in the league. 

His five greatest seasons (2007, 2010, 2011, 2017, and 2012) produced zero rings. If you took it a step further and ranked all 21 of his seasons as a qualified starter, I’d argue that only two (2016 and 2020) would crack the Top-10 of his career. 

Brady played in an NFL-record 10 Super Bowls and his best performance – a 505-yard, three-touchdown, zero-interception, 10.5 YPA performance vs. the Eagles’ fifth-ranked DVOA defense in Super Bowl LII – resulted in a loss. 

The famed 28-3 comeback against Atlanta in Super Bowl LI is the moment most fans remember, but it came against a Falcons defense that ranked 27th in points per-game surrendered – the second lowest-ranked unit out of 120 defenses to reach the Super Bowl – in a game where the reigning league MVP, Matt Ryan, lost a coin flip and never participated in overtime. 

That didn’t impress me nearly as much as what he did the following year. 

Regardless of where you rank Brady, I’d argue that the greatest years of his storied career have been overshadowed by lesser seasons where his teammates as a collective answered the bell. 

In other words, the GOAT remains underrated. 

How Do You Compare Across Eras?

Different eras presented different strengths, weaknesses, advancements, and challenges. 

What is more impressive, completing a pass against a shutdown corner like Patrick Surtain II with advancements in modern-day technology to help aid preparation; or locking eyes with the Fearsome Foursome, absorbing a Deacon Jones “head slap” before completing a pass to a receiver getting mugged in the days before DPI? 

There is no wrong answer here. 

Consider also that football statistics experience inflation alongside the American dollar. 

If Joe Flacco (272) eventually eclipses Montana (273) in career touchdown passes, he will not move ahead of “Joe Cool” on my list. Sorry. 

Statistics can be adjusted for era and seeing where a quarterback ranked amongst their peers, season-by-season and all-time after they retire, is a good starting point to level the playing field. 

Baugh was the greatest quarterback of his generation, but was his career more impressive than the fourth greatest quarterback of the last generation, Rodgers? 

It’s up for discussion. 

Different Leagues, Different Styles 

On my list, you will see quarterbacks like Kurt Warner, whose ceiling (2x NFL MVP) might top that of Warren Moon, despite Moon playing the position at an elite level in his own right, and for a much longer period of time (23 years in the CFL and NFL). You will see dynamic dual-threats like Randall Cunningham and Wilson alongside traditional pocket passers like Aikman and Ryan. 

This list ranks the greatest quarterbacks in pro football history, and for me, that includes the NFL (1937-present), AAFC (1946-49), AFL (1960-69), CFL (1937-present), and USFL (1983-1986). While I do consider the NFL to be the best of them all, it’s worth noting that the AAFC of the late 1940s and the AFL of the late 1960s were formidable competition. 

Graham’s dominance in the AAFC, Moon’s dominance in the CFL, and Jim Kelly’s dominance in the USFL all impacted their rankings. 

My Criteria: No Perfect Formula

My rankings are ever-evolving and every year, I put in over 100 hours of research. Since I first began these rankings nine years ago, I’d conservatively estimate that I’ve logged over 1,000 hours – going to games, watching coach’s film, crunching numbers, adjusting them for era, reading books, and talking with players. 

That doesn’t make my list correct, as there’s no such thing as correct in this subjective space. Just know that I didn’t put this list together hastily, nor did I rank any of the quarterbacks where I did for the sake of being different. 

My criteria itself is what’s different, and I take a lot of pride in the hard work put into this project. 

It’s not just statistics. It’s not just wins, losses, and rings. It’s not just regular season performance, postseason performance, Championship game performance, or voted-on awards. It’s all of these things, but so much more. Football is the ultimate team sport and there’s really no such thing as individual statistics, awards, wins, or Championships. It’s a collective effort and it’s a tremendous challenge to attempt to quantify individual impact on the results of team-driven football games. 

The Top 3 Quarterbacks

People are accustomed to seeing Brady and Manning among my top three quarterbacks of all time. My inclusion of Brees may stand out here, but it’s well deserved. 

More than any other trio in history, these three produced the greatest number of elite seasons at the position – however you want to frame it. Counting the number of seasons in which they ranked inside the top three or top five at the position is one straightforward, if somewhat oversimplified, way to put it. 

From a postseason perspective, Brees holds the edge over Manning with a dominant win in Super Bowl XLIV. Manning has the advantage over Brady, going 3–1 against him in AFC Championship games. Brady has the edge over Brees, having defeated him in the 2020 NFC Divisional Round – though it’s worth noting that Brees was playing through significant injuries at the time. 

Many might be surprised to learn that Brees, despite having the least team success of the three, played at the highest level of the three, come playoff time. Others might also be surprised to learn that Brady and Manning were virtual carbon copies of each other, per-game, in the postseason, if we don’t adjust for era. 

Postseason Per-Game Stats: 

• Brees (2004-2020): 26.7-for-40.1 (66.7%) for 298.1 yards (7.4 yards per attempt), 2.1 touchdowns, 0.8 interceptions and 1.6 sacks 
• Brady (2001-2022): 25.0-for-40.0 (62.5%) for 279.2 yards (7.0), 1.8 touchdowns, 0.8 interceptions and 1.7 sacks 
• Manning (1999-2015): 24.0-for-38.0 (63.2%) for 271.8 yards (7.1), 1.5 touchdowns, 0.9 interceptions and 1.5 sacks 

Some may be quick to dismiss Brees’ postseason résumé, noting that he started 18 games compared to Manning’s 27 and Brady’s 48. While it would have been incredibly difficult to sustain his superior level of play over a stretch as long as Brady’s, it also means Brees had fewer opportunities to underperform. He maximized the opportunities afforded to him and, in the end, delivered superior on-field performance. 

Most Playoff Wins in NFL History with a Passer Rating Under 79.0 (Min. 25 Attempts):

1. Tom Brady – 11 
T-2. Peyton Manning – 3 
T-2. John Elway – 3 

Brees produced one such game – a 26-24 win over the Eagles on 1/4/14 with a 75.7 rating. 

In the end, when comparing total bodies of work, Manning’s peak – the highest ever seen at the position – places him just ahead of Brees and Brady. 

Brees, however, remains the greatest threat to Manning’s crown, as there remains a legitimate discussion to be had. His superior postseason performance, head-to-head Super Bowl victory, and comparable – though slightly lesser – numbers when adjusted for era stand out even more when considering the context of his supporting cast. 

Manning had Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark, Demaryius Thomas, and Eric Decker to throw to. Brady had Rob Gronkowski, Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Julian Edelman, Mike Evans, and Chris Godwin. Brees, by contrast, spread his 571 career touchdown passes across lesser-known targets, with his leading touchdown recipients being Marques Colston (72), Jimmy Graham (51), and Lance Moore (38). 

If any quarterback epitomized the expression “doing more with less,” it was Brees. 

Why Is Elway So Low? 

From 1983–1992, among quarterbacks with 1,000+ passing attempts, John Elway ranked 32nd in completion percentage (54.7%) – below Bill Kenney (54.8%); 35th in touchdown percentage (3.6%) – behind Gary Hogeboom (3.7%); 16th in interception percentage (3.6%) – worse than Don Majkowski (3.5%); and 29th in passer rating (73.8) – below Chris Miller (75.7).  

The final six years of his career were phenomenal: five Pro Bowl appearances, two Super Bowl Championships, and Top‑5 caliber efficiency marks. 

Yes, he did make three Super Bowl appearances in 1986, 1987, and 1989, but the Broncos fielded two Top‑10 defenses in those seasons, including the 1989 unit that ranked No. 1 in the NFL in points per game surrendered. While Elway was a big part of the team’s success, the idea that he “carried” mediocre teams to three Conference Championships doesn’t match up with history. 

No other quarterback in my Top‑15 has efficiency issues comparable to Elway, and my ranking of him as high as 15th is a testament to weighing the context of his playing situation – particularly the sub-optimal offensive supporting cast and system during the first 10 years of his NFL career. 

2026 Ranking Updates

Cecil Isbell played just five seasons in the NFL (1938–1942). During that span, his production rivaled – and by many measures surpassed – that of Baugh. He makes this list. 

• Isbell (1938–1942) 411-for-818 (50.2%) for 5,945 yards (7.3 yards per attempt), 61 touchdowns and 52 interceptions
• Baugh (1938–1942) 465-for-819 (56.8%) 5,498 yards (6.7), 49 touchdowns and 60 interceptions 

Isbell’s 24 touchdown passes in 1942 broke the NFL single-season record of 20, set by Friedman in 1929. The following season, Sid Luckman’s 28 touchdown passes established a new mark. All eight quarterbacks to hold this record since 1942 have made my Top-50: Isbell, Luckman, Johnny Unitas, Sonny Jurgensen, Y.A. Tittle, Marino, Peyton Manning and Brady. 

After a lackluster – though still impressive for a 41-42 year-old quarterback – season by Rodgers, he dropped below Marino. Both players had comparable peak performance, but in the end, Marino’s vastly superior sack avoidance and the fact he retired ranked No. 1 all-time in pass completions, passing yards, and touchdown passes (Rodgers currently ranks fifth, fifth, and fourth, respectively) push him just ahead of the NFC’s only four-time league MVP. 

Mahomes fell back one spot. His 19th-place finish in ANY/A in 2025 continued a trend of measurable decline since the end of the 2022 season. From 2018–2022, Mahomes (8.08) finished second only to Brees (8.16). From 2023–25, he’s plummeted to 19th amongst his peers (6.17). 

Matthew Stafford soared, producing the greatest single-season of his already impressive, underrated, 17-year career. With a league-leading 4,707 passing yards and 46 touchdown passes, Stafford climbed up the NFL’s all-time lists, and now currently ranks sixth all-time in pass completions (5,562), sixth in passing yards (64,516), and seventh in touchdown passes (423). His 100.4 career postseason passer rating tops notable peers of his era – Rodgers at 98.1, Brees at 97.1, Wilson at 96.8, and Brady at 89.8. 

Joe Burrow recorded his fourth season with a passer rating of 100.0 or higher, breaking Peyton Manning’s record for the most such seasons in NFL history among No. 1 overall picks with the team that drafted them. He is the highest-rated passer of the last half-decade (2021–25) at 103.0. In his absence this season, the Bengals finished 1–8, but in their last 13 starts with Burrow over the past two seasons, the team has gone 10–3. It can be argued that no player in the NFL today has a greater impact on his team’s win-loss record than he does. 

Although his body of work is slightly shorter than Allen’s and Jackson’s, he is the only one of the three to win a Conference Championship – and he did so with the NFL’s 17th-ranked scoring defense in 2021. As a sophomore, Burrow led the AFC in passer rating (108.3) and led the NFL in completion percentage (70.4%), yards per attempt (8.9), and adjusted yards per attempt (8.96). His 8.9 YPA is the fourth-highest mark in NFL history among passers with 500 or more attempts, trailing only Marino in 1984 (9.0), Rodgers in 2011 (9.2), and Ryan in 2016 (9.3). 

In the 2021 AFC Championship Game, Burrow helped engineer an 18-point comeback against Mahomes and the Chiefs in Kansas City, tying Peyton Manning’s 18-point rally against Brady and the Patriots in 2006 for the largest comeback in Conference Championship history. In Super Bowl LVI, he completed 22 of 33 passes (66.7%) for 263 yards (8.0 YPA), one touchdown, zero interceptions, and a 100.9 passer rating, as the Bengals fell 23–20. The following season, he led a dominant postseason road win in Buffalo, in the snow, against Allen to guide the Bengals to their second consecutive AFC Championship Game. 

All three quarterbacks have had outstanding, Hall of Fame–caliber starts to their careers. But Burrow stands out most: his peaks are slightly higher, and he has shown a greater ability to carry significantly flawed teams further than his contemporaries. 

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, ranking the greatest quarterbacks in pro football history – for me – is not about any one measure or single metric. 

I refuse to oversimplify the nuanced, team-driven nature of professional football by reducing on-field performance to narrative or theater. There is no algorithm capable of accounting for every variable, which is why a sound, reasonable conclusion must consider all of the moving parts – and always remain open to discussion and reconsideration. 

Any one-on-one comparison – Baugh vs. Luckman, Montana vs. Marino, Manning vs. Brady – is a debate I could dissect for hours. While it’s impossible to fully quantify and articulate every layer of my reasoning in a single article, I hope the analysis above provides a clear framework for how I arrived at these conclusions and rankings. 

Without further ado, I present my list of the 50 greatest quarterbacks in pro football history. 

Ryan Michael is a pro football historian and a contributing writer and analyst for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. 

Follow him on X www.x.com/ryanmichael.