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List of NFL career passing yards leaders

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This list shows the top National Football League quarterbacks with the top 50 players with the most career regular season passing yards, the NFL playoff passing yards leaders with at least 2,500 yards, and the historical progression of regular season record holders. Quarterback totals from the American Football League (1960–1969) and All-American Football Conference (1946–1949) are also recognized by the NFL and are included.

Tom Brady holds both the regular season record, with 89,214 passing yards, and the playoff record, with 13,400 yards.

In American football, passing, along with running (also referred to as rushing), is one of the two main methods of advancing the ball down the field. Passes are typically attempted by the quarterback, but any offensive player can attempt a pass provided they are behind the line of scrimmage.[1] To qualify as a passing play, the ball must have initially moved forward after leaving the hands of the passer; if the ball initially moved laterally or backwards, the play would instead be considered a running play.[2] The amount of passing yards recorded by each quarterback is a recorded stat in football games.

Regular season career passing yards leaders

Tom Brady in a winter hat and New England Patriots jersey.
Tom Brady is the career passing yards leader with 89,214 yards and career playoff passing yards leader with 13,400.
Drew Brees in a New Orleans Saints jersey and helmet.
Drew Brees is second all-time in passing yards with 80,358.
Aaron Rodgers in a Green Bay Packers uniform and helmet with a football in his hands preparing to pass.
Aaron Rodgers, with over 67,000 passing yards, is the active leader in career yardage.
More information Symbol, Meaning ...
Legend
Symbol Meaning
Yds Career passing yardage
GP Games played
YPG Average yardage per game
† Pro Football Hall of Famer
^ Active
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Through Week 6 Thursday game of 2026 season.

More information Rank, Player ...
NFL regular season career passing yards leaders
Rank Player Yds GP YPG Team(s) Seasons Refs
1 Tom Brady 89,214 335 266.3 New England Patriots 2000–2019 [3][4]
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2020–2022
2 Drew Brees† 80,358 287 280 San Diego Chargers 2001–2005 [3][5]
New Orleans Saints 2006–2020
3 Peyton Manning† 71,940 266 270.5 Indianapolis Colts 1998–2011 [3][6]
Denver Broncos 2012–2015
4 Brett Favre† 71,838 302 237.9 Atlanta Falcons 1991 [3][7]
Green Bay Packers 1992–2007
New York Jets 2008
Minnesota Vikings 2009–2010
5 Aaron Rodgers^ 67,508 269 251 Green Bay Packers 2005–2022 [3][8]
New York Jets 2023–2024
Pittsburgh Steelers 2025–present
6 Matthew Stafford^ 66,088 244 270.9 Detroit Lions 2009–2020 [3][9]
Los Angeles Rams 2021–present
7 Ben Roethlisberger 64,088 249 257.4 Pittsburgh Steelers 2004–2021 [3][10]
8 Philip Rivers 63,984 247 259 San Diego/L.A. Chargers 2004–2019 [3][11]
Indianapolis Colts 2020, 2025
9 Matt Ryan 62,792 234 268.3 Atlanta Falcons 2008–2021 [3][12]
Indianapolis Colts 2022
10 Dan Marino† 61,361 243 253.6 Miami Dolphins 1983–1999 [3][13]
11 Eli Manning 57,023 236 241.6 New York Giants 2004–2019 [3][14]
12 John Elway† 51,475 234 220 Denver Broncos 1983–1998 [3][15]
13 Warren Moon† 49,325 208 237.1 Houston Oilers 1984–1993 [3][16]
Minnesota Vikings 1994–1996
Seattle Seahawks 1997–1998
Kansas City Chiefs 1999–2000
14 Joe Flacco^ 48,176 209 230.5 Baltimore Ravens 2008–2018 [3][17]
Denver Broncos 2019–2020
New York Jets 2020, 2021–2022
Philadelphia Eagles 2021
Cleveland Browns 2023, 2025
Indianapolis Colts 2024
Cincinnati Bengals 2025–present
15 Fran Tarkenton† 47,003 246 191.1 Minnesota Vikings 1961–1966, 1972–1978 [3][18]
New York Giants 1967–1971
16 Russell Wilson 46,966 205 229.1 Seattle Seahawks 2012–2021 [3][19]
Denver Broncos 2022–2023
Pittsburgh Steelers 2024
New York Giants 2025
17 Carson Palmer 46,247 182 254.1 Cincinnati Bengals 2003–2010 [3][20]
Oakland Raiders 2011–2012
Arizona Cardinals 2013–2017
18 Vinny Testaverde 46,233 233 198.4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1987–1992 [3][21]
Cleveland Browns 1993–1995
Baltimore Ravens 1996–1997
New York Jets 1998–2003, 2005
Dallas Cowboys 2004
New England Patriots 2006
Carolina Panthers 2007
19 Kirk Cousins^ 45,969 179 256.8 Washington Redskins 2012–2017 [3][22]
Minnesota Vikings 2018–2023
Atlanta Falcons 2024–2025
Las Vegas Raiders 2026–present
20 Drew Bledsoe 44,611 194 230 New England Patriots 1993–2001 [3][23]
Buffalo Bills 2002–2004
Dallas Cowboys 2005–2006
21 Dan Fouts† 43,040 181 237.8 San Diego Chargers 1973–1987 [3][24]
22 Derek Carr 41,245 169 244.1 Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders 2014–2022 [3][25]
New Orleans Saints 2023–2024
23 Jared Goff^ 41,107 156 263.5 Los Angeles Rams 2016–2020 [3][26]
Detroit Lions 2021–present
24 Kerry Collins 40,922 198 206.7 Carolina Panthers 1995–1998[a] [3][27]
New Orleans Saints 1998
New York Giants 1999–2003
Oakland Raiders 2004–2005
Tennessee Titans 2006–2010
Indianapolis Colts 2011
25 Joe Montana† 40,551 192 211.2 San Francisco 49ers 1979–1992 [3][28]
Kansas City Chiefs 1993–1994
26 Johnny Unitas† 40,239 211 190.7 Baltimore Colts 1956–1972 [3][29]
San Diego Chargers 1973
27 Andy Dalton^ 39,793 179 222.3 Cincinnati Bengals 2011–2019 [3][30]
Dallas Cowboys 2020
Chicago Bears 2021
New Orleans Saints 2022
Carolina Panthers 2023–2025
Philadelphia Eagles 2026–present
28 Dave Krieg 38,147 213 179.1 Seattle Seahawks 1980–1991 [3][31]
Kansas City Chiefs 1992–1993
Detroit Lions 1994
Arizona Cardinals 1995
Chicago Bears 1996
Tennessee Oilers 1997–1998
29 Boomer Esiason 37,920 187 202.8 Cincinnati Bengals 1984–1992, 1997 [3][32]
New York Jets 1993–1995
Arizona Cardinals 1996
30 Dak Prescott^ 37,370 144 259.5 Dallas Cowboys 2016–present [3][33]
31 Donovan McNabb 37,276 167 223.2 Philadelphia Eagles 1999–2009 [3][34]
Washington Redskins 2010
Minnesota Vikings 2011
32 Patrick Mahomes^ 36,976 130 284.4 Kansas City Chiefs 2017–present [3][35]
33 Matt Hasselbeck 36,638 209 175.3 Green Bay Packers 1999–2000 [3][36]
Seattle Seahawks 2001–2010
Tennessee Titans 2011–2012
Indianapolis Colts 2013–2015
34 Alex Smith 35,650 174 204.9 San Francisco 49ers 2005–2012 [3][37]
Kansas City Chiefs 2013–2017
Washington Redskins/Football Team 2018–2019
35 Jim Kelly† 35,467 160 221.7 Buffalo Bills 1986–1996 [3][38]
36 Jay Cutler 35,133 153 229.6 Denver Broncos 2006–2008 [3][39]
Chicago Bears 2009–2016
Miami Dolphins 2017
37 Ryan Fitzpatrick 34,990 166 210.8 St. Louis Rams 2005–2006 [3][40]
Cincinnati Bengals 2007–2008
Buffalo Bills 2009–2012
Tennessee Titans 2013
Houston Texans 2014
New York Jets 2015–2016
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2017–2018
Miami Dolphins 2019–2020
Washington Football Team 2021
38 Ryan Tannehill 34,881 155 225 Miami Dolphins 2012–2018 [3][41]
Tennessee Titans 2019–2023
39 Jim Everett 34,837 158 220.5 Los Angeles Rams 1986–1993 [3][42]
New Orleans Saints 1994–1996
San Diego Chargers 1997
40 Jim Hart 34,665 201 172.5 St. Louis Cardinals 1966–1983 [3][43]
Washington Redskins 1984
41 Steve DeBerg 34,241 206 166.2 San Francisco 49ers 1978–1980 [3][44]
Denver Broncos 1981–1983
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1984–1987, 1992–1993[b]
Kansas City Chiefs 1988–1991
Miami Dolphins 1993
Atlanta Falcons 1998
42 Tony Romo 34,183 156 219.1 Dallas Cowboys 2003–2016 [3][45]
43 John Hadl 33,503 224 149.6 San Diego Chargers 1962–1972 [3][46]
Los Angeles Rams 1973–1974[c]
Green Bay Packers 1974–1975
Houston Oilers 1976–1977
44 Phil Simms 33,462 164 204 New York Giants 1979–1993 [3][47]
45 Steve Young† 33,124 169 196 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1985–1986 [3][48]
San Francisco 49ers 1987–1999
46 Y. A. Tittle† 33,070 204 162.1 Baltimore Colts 1948–1950 [3][49]
San Francisco 49ers 1951–1960
New York Giants 1961–1964
47 Troy Aikman† 32,942 165 199.6 Dallas Cowboys 1989–2000 [3][50]
48 Ken Anderson 32,838 192 171 Cincinnati Bengals 1971–1986 [3][51]
49 Cam Newton 32,382 148 218.8 Carolina Panthers 2011–2019, 2021 [3][52]
New England Patriots 2020
50 Kurt Warner† 32,344 124 260.8 St. Louis Rams 1998–2003 [3][53]
New York Giants 2004
Arizona Cardinals 2005–2009
Rank Player Yds GP YPG Team(s) Seasons Refs
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Playoff leaders

Through end of 2025–26 NFL playoffs. Based on at least 2,500 postseason passing yards.

More information Rank, Player ...
Rank Player Yds GP YPG Team(s) Seasons Refs
1 Tom Brady 13,400 48 279.2 New England Patriots 2000–2019 [54][4]
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2020–2022
2 Peyton Manning† 7,339 27 271.8 Indianapolis Colts 1998–2011 [54][6]
Denver Broncos 2012–2015
3 Aaron Rodgers^ 6,040 23 262.6 Green Bay Packers 2005–2022 [54][8]
New York Jets 2023–2024
Pittsburgh Steelers 2025-present
4 Ben Roethlisberger 5,972 259.7 Pittsburgh Steelers 2004–2021 [54][10]
5 Brett Favre† 5,855 24 244 Atlanta Falcons 1991 [54][7]
Green Bay Packers 1992–2007
New York Jets 2008
Minnesota Vikings 2009–2010
6 Patrick Mahomes^ 5,814 21 276.9 Kansas City Chiefs 2017–present [54][55]
7 Joe Montana† 5,772 23 251 San Francisco 49ers 1979–1992 [54][28]
Kansas City Chiefs 1993–1994
8 Drew Brees† 5,366 18 298.1 San Diego Chargers 2001–2005 [54][5]
New Orleans Saints 2006–2020
9 John Elway† 4,964 22 225.6 Denver Broncos 1983–1998 [54][15]
10 Dan Marino† 4,510 18 250.6 Miami Dolphins 1983–1999 [54][13]
11 Russell Wilson 4,056 17 238.6 Seattle Seahawks 2012–2021 [54][19]
Denver Broncos 2022–2023
Pittsburgh Steelers 2024
New York Giants 2025
12 Kurt Warner† 3,952 13 304 St. Louis Rams 1998–2003 [54][53]
New York Giants 2004
Arizona Cardinals 2005
13 Matthew Stafford^ 3,932 302.5 Detroit Lions 2009–2020 [3][56]
Los Angeles Rams 2021-present
14 Josh Allen^ 3,915 15 261 Buffalo Bills 2018-present [54][57]
15 Jim Kelly† 3,863 17 227.2 1986–1996 [54][38]
16 Troy Aikman† 3,849 16 240.6 Dallas Cowboys 1989–2000 [54][50]
17 Terry Bradshaw† 3,833 19 201.7 Pittsburgh Steelers 1970–1983 [54][58]
18 Donovan McNabb 3,752 16 234.5 Philadelphia Eagles 1999–2009 [54][34]
Washington Redskins 2010
Minnesota Vikings 2011
19 Joe Flacco^ 3,530 220.6 Baltimore Ravens 2008–2018 [54][17]
Denver Broncos 2019
New York Jets 2020, 2021–2022
Philadelphia Eagles 2021
Cleveland Browns 2023, 2025
Indianapolis Colts 2024
Cincinnati Bengals 2025–present
20 Steve Young† 3,326 22 151.2 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1985–1986 [54][48]
San Francisco 49ers 1987–1999
21 Philip Rivers 2,965 12 247.1 San Diego/L.A. Chargers 2004–2019 [54][11]
Indianapolis Colts 2020, 2025
22 Warren Moon† 2,870 10 287 Houston Oilers 1984–2003 [54][16]
Minnesota Vikings 1994–1996
Seattle Seahawks 1997–1998
Kansas City Chiefs 1999–2000
23 Roger Staubach† 2,817 20 140.9 Dallas Cowboys 1969–1979 [54][59]
24 Eli Manning 2,815 12 234.6 New York Giants 2004–2019 [54][14]
25 Matt Hasselbeck 2,741 11 249.2 Green Bay Packers 1998–2000 [54][36]
Seattle Seahawks 2001–2010
Tennessee Titans 2011–2012
Indianapolis Colts 2013–2015
26 Matt Ryan 2,672 10 267.2 Atlanta Falcons 2008–2021 [54][12]
Indianapolis Colts 2022
27 Ken Stabler† 2,641 13 203.2 Oakland Raiders 1970–1979 [54][60]
Houston Oilers 1980–1981
New Orleans Saints 1982–1984
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Historical passing yards leaders

Eleven players are recognized as having held the record as the NFL's career passing yardage leader. The longest record holder was Fran Tarkenton, who held the record for nineteen years.

More information Reign, Player ...
Reign Player Team(s) while leader Career passing yards Season(s) Refs
1932–1942
(11 years)		 Arnie Herber† Green Bay Packers 639 1932 [61]
1,295 1933
2,094 1934
2,823 1935
4,062 1936
4,746 1937
5,082 1938
6,189 1939
6,749 1940–1942
1943–1958
(16 years)		 Sammy Baugh† Washington Redskins 8,379 1943 [62]
9,228 1944
10,897 1945
12,060 1946
14,998 1947
17,597 1948
19,500 1949
20,630 1950
21,734 1951
21,886 1952–1958
1959–1963
(5 years)		 Bobby Layne† Pittsburgh Steelers 22,063 1959 [63]
23,877 1960
25,082 1961
26,768 1962–1963
1964–1967
(4 years)		 Y. A. Tittle† New York Giants 28,339 1964–1967 [64]
1968–1975
(8 years)		 Johnny Unitas† Baltimore Colts (1968–1972)
San Diego Chargers (1973)		 33,160 1968 [29]
35,502 1969
37,715 1970
38,657 1971
39,768 1972
40,239 1973–1975
1976–1994
(19 years)		 Fran Tarkenton† Minnesota Vikings 41,801 1976 [18]
43,535 1977
47,003 1978–1994
1995–2006
(12 years)		 Dan Marino† Miami Dolphins 48,841 1995 [13]
51,636 1996
55,416 1997
58,913 1998
61,361 1999–2006
2007–2014
(8 years)		 Brett Favre† Green Bay Packers (2007)
New York Jets (2008)
Minnesota Vikings (2009–2010)		 61,655 2007 [7]
65,127 2008
69,329 2009
71,838 2010–2014
2015–2017
(3 years)		 Peyton Manning† Denver Broncos 71,940 2015–2017 [6]
2018–2020
(3 years)		Drew Brees† New Orleans Saints 74,437 2018 [5]
77,416 2019
80,358 2020
Since 2021
(6 years)		 Tom Brady Tampa Bay Buccaneers 84,520 2021 [4]
89,2142022–present
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See also

Notes

  1. [a]
    Collins was traded during the 1998 season; he played four games for the Panthers and seven for the Saints.
  2. [b]
    DeBerg was cut during the 1993 season; he played three games for the Buccaneers and five for the Dolphins.
  3. [c]
    Hadl was traded during the 1974 season; he played six games for the Rams and eight for the Packers.

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