NFL All Time Passing Yards Leaders: Top 50 Career Passing Yardage List

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Tom Brady is the NFL’s all time passing yards leader with 89,214, nearly 9,000 clear of Drew Brees in second. Eight of the top 33 are still active in 2026, led by Aaron Rodgers in fifth and Matthew Stafford in sixth. Here is the full top 50 through the 2025 season.

NFL CAREER PASSING YARDS · THROUGH 2025
Tom Brady, 89,214
Top 50 all time · Gold rows are players active in 2026
# Player Years Yards TD INT
1 Tom Brady 2000-22 89,214 649 212
2 Drew Brees 2001-20 80,358 571 243
3 Peyton Manning 1998-2015 71,940 539 251
4 Brett Favre 1991-2010 71,838 508 336
5 Aaron Rodgers 2005-present 66,274 527 123
6 Matthew Stafford 2009-present 64,516 423 196
7 Ben Roethlisberger 2004-21 64,088 418 211
8 Philip Rivers 2004-20, 2025 63,984 425 212
9 Matt Ryan 2008-24 62,792 381 183
10 Dan Marino 1983-99 61,361 420 252
11 Eli Manning 2004-19 57,023 366 244
12 John Elway 1983-98 51,475 300 226
13 Warren Moon 1984-2000 49,325 291 233
14 Joe Flacco 2008-present 48,176 272 172
15 Fran Tarkenton 1961-78 47,003 342 266
16 Russell Wilson 2012-25 46,966 353 114
17 Carson Palmer 2003-17 46,247 294 187
18 Vinny Testaverde 1987-2007 46,233 275 267
19 Kirk Cousins 2012-present 44,700 298 131
20 Drew Bledsoe 1993-2006 44,611 251 206
21 Dan Fouts 1973-87 43,040 254 242
22 Derek Carr 2014-25 41,245 257 112
23 Kerry Collins 1995-2011 40,922 208 196
24 Joe Montana 1979-94 40,551 273 139
25 Johnny Unitas 1956-73 40,239 290 253
26 Andy Dalton 2011-present 39,793 254 151
27 Jared Goff 2016-present 39,622 256 102
28 Dave Krieg 1980-98 38,147 261 199
29 Boomer Esiason 1984-97 37,920 247 184
30 Donovan McNabb 1999-2011 37,276 234 117
31 Matt Hasselbeck 1999-2015 36,638 212 153
32 Dak Prescott 2016-present 35,989 243 92
33 Patrick Mahomes 2017-present 35,939 267 85
34 Alex Smith 2005-20 35,650 199 109
35 Jim Kelly 1986-96 35,467 237 175
36 Jay Cutler 2006-17 35,133 227 160
37 Ryan Fitzpatrick 2005-21 34,990 223 169
38 Ryan Tannehill 2012-23 34,881 216 115
39 Jim Everett 1986-97 34,837 203 175
40 Jim Hart 1966-84 34,665 209 247
41 Steve DeBerg 1977-98 34,241 196 204
42 Tony Romo 2003-17 34,183 248 117
43 John Hadl 1962-77 33,503 244 268
44 Phil Simms 1979-93 33,462 199 157
45 Steve Young 1985-99 33,124 232 107
46 Troy Aikman 1989-2000 32,942 165 141
47 Ken Anderson 1971-86 32,838 197 160
48 Cam Newton 2011-21 32,382 194 123
49 Kurt Warner 1998-2009 32,344 208 128
50 Sonny Jurgensen 1957-74 32,224 255 189

How Far Ahead Brady Is

Brady threw for 89,214 yards over 335 games, roughly two full seasons more than anyone else has played at the position. The gap between him and Brees is 8,856 yards, which is more than most quarterbacks throw in three years. Only four men have cleared 70,000.

Who Is Still Climbing

  • Aaron Rodgers needs 5,564 yards to pass Brett Favre for fourth and 5,666 to pass Peyton Manning for third. At his recent pace that is at least two more full seasons.
  • Matthew Stafford is 1,758 behind Rodgers and has already passed Ben Roethlisberger, Philip Rivers and Matt Ryan. He is the most likely active player to reach the top five.
  • Patrick Mahomes is 33rd at 35,939 but has done it in only 126 games, an average of 285 yards a game. That is the highest per game figure on this list, and it is why he is the only realistic long term threat to Brady’s record.
  • Jared Goff and Dak Prescott are both around 36,000 and both under 32, which puts the top 15 in range.

Efficiency vs. Volume

The list rewards longevity more than quality. Vinny Testaverde is 18th all time with 275 touchdowns and 267 interceptions. Kerry Collins is 23rd with more picks than most Hall of Famers. Meanwhile Joe Montana sits 24th and Steve Young 45th, both of whom played in an era of shorter seasons and fewer pass attempts. Rodgers has the best touchdown to interception ratio in the top 10 by a wide margin at 527 to 123.

Notes on the Numbers

These are regular season totals only and include AFL and APFA statistics. Brady’s number grows to 102,616 if you add the playoffs, where he threw for more than 13,000 yards on his own. Figures are current through the 2025 season and will move once Week 1 of 2026 kicks off on September 10.

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