All-time career passer rating leaders

Cold, Hard Football Facts for Jul 01, 2008

Also see:

This list of all-time passer rating leaders is based upon a list compiled by the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The HOF list includes every quarterback with 1,500 passing attempts (the minimum needed to qualify for official NFL records). A total of 150 quarterbacks make the cut, from No. 1 Steve Young (96.81) to former NFL and AFL passer Frank Tripucka (51.18), at No. 150.

We took the Hall of Fame list and added the career years of every player on the list. This simple addition gives us an illuminating look into the history of pro football and the evolution of the passing game in particular. Simply note that, at the start of the 2008 season, 16 of the Top 20 passer-rating leaders were active in 2007. This statistical anomaly tells us that, thanks to a series of rules favoring offense, it's easier than ever to pass the ball in the NFL.

For proof that it's easier than ever, you'll see much lower passer rating numbers on our lists of Dead Ball Era (to 1977) passer rating leaders and our list of passers whose careers spanned both the Dead Ball and Live Ball (1978-present) Eras.

CAREER PASSER RATING LEADERS (at start of 2008 season)

	Player	Years	Rating
1	Steve Young	1985-99	96.81
2	Peyton Manning	1998-present	94.72
3	Kurt Warner	1998-present	93.17
4	Tom Brady	2000-present	92.93
5	Joe Montana	1979-1994	92.26
6	Carson Palmer	2004-present	90.12
7	Daunte Culpepper	1999-present	89.95
8	Chad Pennington	2000-present	88.89
9	Marc Bulger	2002-present	88.08
10	Drew Brees	2001-present	87.94
11	Jeff Garcia	1999-present	87.24
12	Trent Green	1997-present	86.9
13	Dan Marino	1983-99	86.38
14	Matt Hasselbeck	1999-present	86.23
15	Donovan McNabb	1999-present	85.78
16	Brett Favre	1991-2007	85.7
17	Jake Delhomme	1999-present	85.23
18	Rich Gannon	1987-2004	84.71
19	Jim Kelly	1986-96	84.39
20	Mark Brunell	1994-2006	84.21
21	Brian Griese	1998-present	83.64
22	Roger Staubach	1969-79	83.42
23	Brad Johnson	1994-present	83.09
24	Steve McNair	1995-2007	82.76
25	Neil Lomax	1981-88	82.68
26	Sonny Jurgensen	1957-74	82.62
27	Len Dawson	1957-75	82.56
28	Ken Anderson	1971-86	81.86
29	Bernie Kosar	1985-96	81.83
30	Neil O'Donnell	1991-2003	81.82
31	Danny White	1976-88	81.71
32	Troy Aikman	1989-2000	81.62
33	Dave Krieg	1980-98	81.5
34	Randall Cunningham	1985-2001	81.47
35	Boomer Esiason	1984-97	81.06
36	Warren Moon	1984-2000	80.9
37	Jeff Hostetler	1985-97	80.48
38	Bart Starr	1956-71	80.47
39	Ken O'Brien	1984-93	80.44
40	Jeff George	1990-2001	80.42
41	Fran Tarkenton	1961-78	80.35
42	Steve Beuerlien	1988-2003	80.32
43	Dan Fouts	1973-87	80.23
44	John Elway	1983-98	79.86
45	Tony Eason	1983-90	79.72
46	Elvis Grbac	1994-2001	79.65
47	Chris Chandler	1988-2004	79.12
48	Mark Rypien	1988-2001	78.93
49	Jim Everett	1986-97	78.59
50	Aaron Brooks	2000-06	78.53
51	Phil Simms	1979-93	78.48
52	Bert Jones	1973-82	78.21
53	Johnny Unitas	1956-73	78.2
54	Jim McMahon	1982-96	78.17
55	Otto Graham	1946-55	78.17
56	Jeff Blake	1992-2005	78.03
57	Bobby Hebert	1985-96	78
58	Frank Ryan	1958-70	77.61
59	Jim Harbaugh	1987-2000	77.6
60	Joe Theismann	1974-85	77.37
61	Bob Griese	1967-80	77.14
62	Jay Fiedler	1995-2005	77.13
63	Drew Bledsoe	1993-2006	77.06
64	Bill Kenney	1980-88	76.98
65	Jon Kitna	1997-present	76.75
66	Erik Kramer	1987-99	76.64
67	Gary Danielson	1976-88	76.58
68	Doug Flutie	1986-2005	76.34
69	Stan Humphries	1989-1997	75.83
70	Michael Vick	2001-06	75.75
71	Wade Wilson	1981-98	75.57
72	Steve Bartkowski	1975-86	75.44
73	Ken Stabler	1970-84	75.31
74	Scott Mitchell	1991-2001	75.28
75	Steve Bono	1985-99	75.27
76	Tim Couch	1999-2003	75.14
77	Norm Van Brocklin	1949-60	75.07
78	Sid Luckman	1939-50	75.01
79	Vinny Testaverde	1987-2007	75
80	Chris Miller	1987-99	74.93
81	Don Meredith	1960-68	74.84
82	Brian Sipe	1974-83	74.79
83	Jake Plummer	1997-2006	74.61
84	David Carr	2002-present	74.44
85	Gus Frerotte	1994-present	74.3
86	Roman Gabriel	1962-77	74.29
87	Steve DeBerg	1979-98	74.24
88	Earl Morrall	1956-76	74.09
89	Y.A. Tittle	1946-64	73.65
90	Craig Morton	1965-82	73.52
91	Eli Manning	2004-present	73.38
92	Rodney Peete	1989-2004	73.3
93	Kerry Collins	1995-present	73.3
94	Don Majkowksi	1987-96	72.95
95	Daryle Lamonica	1963-74	72.94
96	Greg Landry	1968-84	72.94
97	Ron Jaworski	1974-89	72.78
98	Tommy Kramer	1977-90	72.77
99	Tony Banks	1996-2005	72.36
100	Bubby Brister	1986-2000	72.28
101	John Brodie	1957-73	72.27
102	Milt Plum	1957-69	72.22
103	Sammy Baugh	1937-52	72.21
104	Billy Wade	1954-68	72.19
105	Jay Schroeder	1985-94	71.68
106	Billy Kilmer	1961-78	71.56
107	Bill Munson	1964-79	71.49
108	Lynn Dickey	1971-85	70.94
109	Terry Bradshaw	1970-83	70.92
110	Kordell Stewart	1995-2005	70.69
111	Bill Nelsen	1963-72	70.25
112	Trent Dilfer	1994-2007	70.18
113	Vince Ferragamo	1977-86	70.08
114	Steve Grogan	1975-90	69.61
115	Doug Williams	1978-89	69.39
116	Joey Harrington	2002-present	69.38
117	Charley Johnson	1961-75	69.21
118	Mike Tomczak	1985-99	68.91
119	Eric Hipple	1980-89	68.68
120	Joe Ferguson	1973-90	68.45
121	Charlie Conerly	1948-61	68.25
122	Dave Brown	1992-2001	67.89
123	Billy Joe Tolliver	1989-99	67.74
124	Marc Wilson	1980-90	67.7
125	Tom Flores	1960-69	67.58
126	Richard Todd	1976-85	67.57
127	Jim Plunkett	1971-86	67.45
128	John Hadl	1962-77	67.41
129	Jim Zorn	1976-87	67.28
130	Archie Manning	1971-84	67.1
131	Jim Hart	1966-84	66.56
132	Norm Snead	1961-76	65.54
133	Joe Namath	1965-77	65.46
134	Rick Mirer	1993-2003	63.53
135	Bobby Layne	1948-62	63.38
136	Jack Trudeau	1986-95	63.32
137	Mike Livingston	1968-79	63.27
138	Mike Pagel	1982-93	63.26
139	Ed Brown	1954-65	62.77
140	Mark Malone	1980-89	61.89
141	Bob Waterfield	1945-52	61.58
142	Eddie LeBaron	1952-63	61.43
143	George Blanda	1949-75	60.65
144	Babe Parilli	1952-69	59.59
145	Dan Pastorini	1971-83	59.06
146	Jack Kemp	1957-69	57.35
147	Tobin Rote	1950-66	56.79
148	Cotton Davidson	1954-69	54.88
149	Mike Phipps	1970-81	52.63
150	Frank Tripucka	1949-63	52.18

By Kerry Byrne

Read more: Cold Hard Football Facts, NFL

Forearm Shiver: the CHFF Blog

Hockey Announcer Gone Wild: You Want To Party (Maybe) With This Guy

Best Pass Defense Ever: Ronde Barber And The 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Reese Witherspoon Arrest Video: Hot, Bothered And Handcuffed

Sam Adams In A Can, Just In Time For Summer Drinking Season

Live From Radio City: Reporter Punks NFL Draft Fans


Privacy guaranteed. We'll never share your info.