The Best NFL Quarterbacks of All Time
Quarterbacks have long been hailed as the most important players on the field in the NFL.
Even with a stud running back at the ready, the quarterback will always be relied upon to call the plays and exploit openings downfield.
Even the emphasis on sack-happy defensive ends in the modern game hasn’t diminished how coveted a top-tier quarterback is in the league.
So, the debate around who is the best QB of all time is often seen as a debate as to who is the greatest NFL player of all time. But what does it take to even be considered among the best NFL QBs of all time? Is it a case of passing yards records or Super Bowl wins? How do personal accolades like NFL MVP and Pro Bowl selections play into the argument?
Here’s what we’ve considered to be the most important aspects to create our best QB of all time rankings.
What Makes a Great NFL Quarterback?
Football is much more of a discrete sport as opposed to being a continuous sport like hockey or soccer. Each play generally goes from the snapper to the quarterback and then either passed towards a receiver or handed off to a back. It’s this discreet format without a continuous flow to the game that puts the emphasis on individual performance.
As such, there’s always been plenty of room for the best QBs in the NFL of all time to truly take games by the scruff of the neck and dictate the outcome. That said, personal accolades and individual stats weigh heavily into the rankings here.
A great QB can pull teams to tremendous achievements, with the Super Bowl being the ultimate goal.
In the NFL, the regular season works as a qualifier for the playoffs, which culminate in what is essentially the NFL final, the Super Bowl.
However, the culture around the sport essentially sets the Super Bowl as a different entity, putting even more weight behind winning the Lombardi Trophy.
Finally, the context of playing eras is also brought into the calculations due to how much the NFL has changed, particularly in terms of competitiveness, over the years.
With that all laid out, here are the best NFL QBs of all time, as well as a few honourable mentions who just missed the cut.
Giants within the NFL
The best QB of all time and their peers have etched a permanent place in the NFL history books for their efforts. As noted above, those considered to be among the best NFL QBs of all time are generally the headline names for the best NFL player of all time.
So pivotal is the position that great QBs become giants of the league. These are those NFL giants who deserve to compete for the spot as the best QB of all time.
Tom Brady
Many legends aren’t fully appreciated for several years after their retirement, but in the case of Tom Brady, he was being talked about as one of the best NFL QBs of all time well before his retirement in 2022.
Playing from 2000 to 2019 for the New England Patriots and 2020 to 2022 for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Brady established a mighty legacy.
In the regular season, the 6’4’’ slinger from San Mateo, California, started 333 games, completed 7,753 passes for a completion percentage of 64.3 percent and 89,214 yards, and 649 passing touchdowns. All of those, bar the pass completion percentage, are all-time career records. In the playoffs, Brady’s figures are almost all record setters.
Over 48 games, he completed 1,200 passes for a 62.5 pass completion percentage, 13,400 passing yards, 88 touchdowns, a passer rating of 89.8, and an interception percentage of just 2.1 percent. In so many regards, with a postseason record of 35-13-0, Tom Brady is the best QB of all time.
We can also throw in his accolades to reaffirm the point. He won the Super Bowl seven times and was named the Super Bowl MVP in five of those games. While another contender here is in the mix for the Super Bowl odds, there’s a huge gap between his vaunted haul and Brady’s.
The Pats and Bucs QB was also named the NFL MVP three times and named to the Pro Bowl 15 times. As of right now, his name is next to 13 NFL records.
Joe Montana
Known for his drive all the way to the end of the biggest games, Joe Montana not only amassed an incredibly impressive statistical record, but his greatness was put on show in the Super Bowl often.
Of his four Super Bowl triumphs, he was named the Super Bowl MVP in three of them. Plus, he won the NFL MVP prize in back-to-back regular seasons.
Dominating throughout the 1980s, Montana’s 16-season career – one of which was missed due to injury – yielded a 117-47 record, 3,409 completions from 5,391 attempts (63.2 completion percentage), 40,551 passing yards and 273 touchdowns.
He was also notable for his rushing skills, putting up 1,676 yards on 457 attempts to score 20 TDs. They’re not quite at Patrick Mahomes’ levels, but they were significant in his era.
Across nine trips to the playoffs with the San Francisco 49ers and two with the Kansas City Chiefs, he went 16-7, put up a 62.7 completion percentage with 460 completions, and scored 45 TDs on 5,772 yards.
When he retired in 1994, Montana held six postseason records, including the most Super Bowl wins and wins as a starting QB.
However, it was that recurring showcase of “Montana Magic” that made him so legendary. In the football lines, especially in the playoffs, it’d be foolish to bet against him when his team was behind.
Among the highlights showcasing this are his Super Bowl XXIII 92-yard winning drive and his pass to Dwight Clark in the 1981 NFC title game.
Peyton Manning
Drafted first overall in 1998, Peyton Manning more than delivered on his promise. “The Sheriff,” as he became known, played until 2015 for the Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos, winning the Super Bowl once for both teams on two appearances each. During that time, he also secured the NFL MVP five times and went to the Pro Bowl 14 times.
He’d finish his 18-season NFL career – one of which was missed – with a 186-79 record, a 65.3 pass completion percentage from 9,380 attempts, 71,940 passing yards, and 539 touchdowns. In the playoffs, his win ratio dipped to a 14-13 record, but he still upheld a 63.2 pass completion percentage and threw 40 touchdowns.
Most impressively, at the age of 37 in 2013, Manning stepped up for the Denver Broncos and threw for 5,477 yards, which remains an NFL record.
As well as this record padding his claim to being the best QB of all time, Manning also still holds the record for the most MVP awards, the most 4,000 passing yards, and the most single-season passing TDs (55).
Patrick Mahomes
Still active in the NFL and among the favourites in the most passing touchdowns markets, Patrick Mahomes has already done enough to feature in the best QB of all time conversation.
Now 29-years-old, the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback has won the Super Bowl three times and was named the Super Bowl MVP in each.
Already a six-time Pro Bowler with two NFL MVP awards, Mahomes’ uncanny ability to hit his man deep downfield and ability to scamper out of the pocket have made him the epitome of the modern QB. In the playoffs already, he boasts a 17-4 record with a 67.7 pass completion percentage and 46 passing touchdowns.
In the regular season, he’s also been a dominant force. Mahomes has won 89 of his 112 games going into the 2025 NFL season. In that time, he’s nailed 2,778 of his 4,171 attempts for a 66.6 completion percentage and 32,352 yards and 245 TDs. On top of this, he’s rushed for 14 TDs and 2,243 yards.
Johnny Unitas
Across the pre-merger era and into the days of the Super Bowl, Johnny Unitas continued to lead the Baltimore Colts to success. From being picked 102nd overall (ninth round) in 1955 to his one-off season with the San Diego Chargers in 1973, Unitas set the bar for QBs to come and still ranks among the best NFL QBs of all time.
He won the NFL MVP title three times, the NFL championship and Super Bowl a combined four times, and got ten Pro Bowl call-ups.
As for individual stats, Unitas led the league in the number of comebacks achieved from the fourth quarter in six different seasons, setting a record for so regularly defying the NFL betting lines.
Unitas’ 118-63-4 record with 40,239 passing yards and 290 TDs in the NFL is impressive enough now, but he also had a huge cultural impact. His NFL-winning performances are now credited as catalyzing the league’s popularity, with his style noted as being prototypical of the modern NFL QB.
Honourable Mentions
These quarterbacks undoubtedly enjoyed prolific careers, but will marginally miss out on the top end of the conversation for being the best QB of all time.
Aaron Rodgers
Taken 24th overall in 2005 to be Brett Favre’s heir-apparent, expectations for Aaron Rodgers were high from the get-go. He spent two years as Favre’s backup, and then exploded onto the scene with 4,038 yards and 28 TDs in his first season after Favre’s retirement. The 13 interceptions thrown that season would remain his career worst.
Now, his NFL regular season pick rate of just 1.4 percent is an all-time record, but he was just as efficient as he was clean. In 20 seasons, most of which were with the Green Bay Packers, Rodgers secured a 65.1 pass completion percentage on 8,245 attempts, 62,952 passing yards, and 503 touchdowns.
Dan Marino
Dan Marino may have never won the Super Bowl, but his efforts across his 17-season NFL career undoubtedly earn him an honourable mention in the discussion about the best QB of all time. He took the Miami Dolphins to the playoffs ten times and the Super Bowl once, setting the record for the most QB wins without taking the championship at 155.
He still holds NFL records, including the most seasons leading the league in completions at six and pass attempts at five, while also going to the Pro Bowl nine times and winning the NFL MVP crown once. With 61,361 passing yards and 420 touchdowns to his name, Marino’s dominance in the 80s and 90s easily ranks him close to the best QBs ever.
John Elway
A two-time Super Bowl champion, one-time Super Bowl MVP, and nine-time Pro Bowler, John Elway would have never been counted out in the sports betting lines when the Denver Broncos had the ball.
When he retired in 1999, the career-long Bronco was the second-most prolific passer and held the most starting QB victories in NFL history.
He was very much a dual-threat akin to the likes of Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson of the current game. At 6’3’’, he was quite the unit charging through the trenches, ending his career with 3,407 yards and 33 touchdowns on the ground. Naturally, he was also an accomplished passer, securing 51,475 yards and exactly 300 NFL TDs in 231 starts for the Denver Broncos.