List of gridiron football quarterbacks passing statistics

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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]

A banner hangs in the Rogers Centre to commemorate Damon Allen's record-breaking pass in 2006.
Bo Levi Mitchell is the newest player added.

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, the all-time pass completion percentage leader, and Ron Lancaster, the all-time interceptions leader.

If regular season and post-season combined records are considered, Brady is the all-time leader in gridiron passing yards with 102,614, having broken Calvillo's record of 85,976 yards[18] in 2020.

Brady is also the leader in the other three major categories if post-season performances are considered (with 737 touchdown passes, 8,953 pass completions and 13,971 pass attempts).[19][20][21]

All-time outdoor professional quarterback passing statistics

Updated through current season; minimum 40,000 passing yards.
Bold and highlight denotes an active player.
More information Rank, Name ...
RankNameTenureLeaguesAttemptsCompletionsComp %TDsINTsYardagePasser ratingReferences
1 Tom Brady 2000–2022 NFL 12,050* 7,753* 64.3 649* 212 89,214* 97.2 [3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
2 Drew Brees 2001–2020 10,551~ 7,142~ 67.7 571~ 243 80,358~ 98.7
3 Anthony Calvillo 1994–2013 CFL 9,437 5,892 62.4 455 224 79,816~ 95.5 [19][22]
4 Damon Allen 1985–2007 CFL 9,138 5,158 56.5 394 278 72,381~ 83.8 [23]
5 Peyton Manning 1998–2015 NFL 9,380 6,125 65.3 539~ 251 71,940 96.5 [3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
6 Brett Favre 1991–2010 10,169~ 6,300~ 62.0 508~ 336 71,838 86.0
7 Warren Moon 1977–2000 NFL/CFL 9,205~ 5,357~ 58.2 435~ 310 70,553~ 84.2 [24][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
8 Aaron Rodgers Since 2005 NFL 8,743 5,696 65.1 527 123 66,274 102.2 [3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
9 Matthew Stafford Since 2009 8,763 5,562 63.5 423 196 64,516 92.4
10 Ben Roethlisberger 2004–2021 NFL 8,433 5,440 64.4 418 211 64,088 93.5 [3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
11 Henry Burris 1997–2016 CFL/NFL/NFLE 7,576 4,711 62.2 382 237 64,023 92.9 [2][25][26]
12 Philip Rivers 2004–2020, 2025 NFL 8,226 5,335 64.9 425 212 63,984 95.0 [3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
13 Matt Ryan 2008–2022 NFL 8,464 5,551 65.6 381 183 62,792 93.6 [3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
14 Dan Marino 1983–1999 8,358 4,967 59.4 420 252 61,361 86.4
15 Ricky Ray 2002–2018 CFL 7,301 4,976 68.2* 324 177 60,736 98.4~ [27]
16 Doug Flutie 1985–2005 CFL/NFL/USFL 7,276 4,286 58.9 369 237 58,179 87.8 [28][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
17 Eli Manning 2004–2019 NFL 8,119 4,894 60.3 366 244 57,023 84.1 [3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
18 Danny McManus 1988–2006 CFL/NFL 6,689 3,640 54.4 259 281 53,255 76.1 [29]
19 Kevin Glenn 2001–2018 CFL 6,434 4,068 63.2 294 207 52,867 90.8 [30]
20 John Elway 1983–1999 NFL 7,250 4,123 56.9 300 226 51,475 79.9 [3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
21 Ron Lancaster 1960–1978 CFL 6,233 3,384 54.3 333~ 396* 50,535~ 72.4 [31]
22 Joe Flacco Since 2008 NFL 7,167 4,417 61.6 272 172 48,176 84.1 [3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
23 Fran Tarkenton 1961–1978 NFL 6,467~ 3,686~ 57.0 342~ 266 47,003 80.4 [3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
24 Russell Wilson Since 2012 NFL 6,120 3,951 64.6 353 114 46,966 99.3 [3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
25 Carson Palmer 2003–2017 NFL 6,307 3,941 62.5 294 187 46,247 87.9 [3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
26 Vinny Testaverde 1987–2007 6,701 3,787 56.5 275 267 46,233 75.0
27 Jim Kelly 1984–1996 NFL/USFL 5,933 3,604 60.7 320 195 45,309 88.8 [32][3][33][5][6][34][8][9]
28 Kirk Cousins Since 2012 NFL 5,899 3,934 66.7 298 131 44,700 96.8 [3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
29 Bo Levi Mitchell Since 2012 CFL 5,277 3,456 65.5 262 129 44,626 98.3 [35]
30 Drew Bledsoe 1993–2006 NFL 6,717 3,839 57.2 250 115 44,611 77.1 [3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
31 Matt Dunigan 1983–1996 CFL 5,476 3,057 55.8 306 211 43,857 84.6 [36]
32 Jeff Garcia 1994–2011 CFL/NFL/UFL 5,955 3,645 61.2 272 146 43,300 88.9 [37][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
33 Dan Fouts 1973–1987 NFL 5,604 3,297 58.8 254 242 43,040 80.2 [3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
34 Derek Carr 2014–2024 5,785 3,765 65.1 257 112 41,245 92.8
35 Kerry Collins 1995–2011 6,261 3,487 55.7 208 196 40,922 73.8
36 Joe Montana 1979–1994 5,391 3,409 63.2 273 139 40,551 92.3
37 Tracy Ham 1987–1999 CFL 4,945 2,670 54.0 284 164 40,534 86.6 [38]
38 Johnny Unitas 1956–1973 NFL 5,186 2,830 54.6 290 253 40,239 78.2 [3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
Close

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

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.[39] 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)[40] and his time with the Amsterdam Admirals of NFL Europe (2,101 passing yards)[41] 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.[41]
  • Aaron Garcia has 62,180 gridiron passing yards. However, all of his totals were accumulated in the now-defunct Arena Football 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[42] (Grieb has an additional 499 yards[43] 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

References

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