Now that Tom Brady has retired, he gets a chance to witness new quarterback single-season and career records potentially fall in the NFL, as the seven-time Super Bowl winner turns to the broadcast booth this 2024 season.
There are very few lists without his name appearing somewhere. However, legends like Peyton Manning and Drew Brees also have quite a few accolades still intact. Here are the top three QBs in all-time QB career records, season records, and rookie records to show who the best in the game truly are.
NFL QB Season Records
NFL Season Passing Yards Leader
- 5,477 — 2013, Peyton Manning (37 years old)
- 5,476 — 2011, Drew Brees (32)
- 5,316 — 2021, Tom Brady (43)
Brees and Brady were the first to break QB Dan Marino’s season record of 5,084 passing yards in 2011. Marino’s 1984 record had stood for 27 years, which is no small feat. Since that crazy 2011 season, seven other QBs have surpassed Marino, including the current record-holder; Manning put up 5,477 yards and broke the record by a single yard in 2013 when he was with the Denver Broncos, only two years after Brees.
This beat Manning’s previous best of 4,700 yards in 2010 with the Indianapolis Colts. He also put up 4,727 yards with the Broncos in 2014, giving him three seasons in the top 40 all-time.
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Marino’s once-impossible 1984 QB passing yards season record is now 10th on the all-time list. Even Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs, now considered the face of the league as a three-time Super Bowl Most Valuable Player, has beaten out Marino’s record by producing 5,250 yards in 2022.
This goes to show how pass-happy the league has become in the last decade. It also shows just how impressive Marino was in his day, doing things in the NFL that it would take decades to do again.
NFL Passing Touchdowns Leader
- 55 — 2013, Peyton Manning (37 years old)
- 50 — 2007, Tom Brady (30)
- 50 — 2018, Patrick Mahomes (22)
Brady’s 2007 50-touchdown performance is one for the ages and was supposed to last forever, but Manning’s 2013 campaign was a sight to behold as well. Mahomes throwing for 50 at the age of 22 was also thoroughly impressive, beating Marino’s 1984 outing of 48 when he was also just 22 years old. That’s definitely some fine company for the new kid on the block.
Meanwhile, Marino’s previous NFL record of 48 is tied for fifth all-time. Aaron Rodgers tossed the same number of TD passes in the 2020 season while with the Green Bay Packers.
NFL Pass Completion Leader
- 490 — 2022, Tom Brady (45 years old)
- 485 — 2021, Tom Brady (44)
- 477 — 2022, Justin Herbert (24)
Brady’s name sits at the two top marks of the NFL’s most completions in a single season.
Los Angeles Chargers’ Justin Herbert came close recently in the ’22 season by hitting 477. Herbert beat out Brees’ best of 471 in 2016 to claim third here.
NFL Season QB Rushing Yards Leader
- 1,206 — 2019, Lamar Jackson
- 1,143 — 2022, Justin Fields
- 1,039 — 2006, Michael Vick
Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson has changed the game when it comes to mobile signal-callers. In his young career, he has already broken Michael Vick’s individual season rushing yard record of 1,039.
Jackson’s record remains intact, at least for another year, after former Chicago Bears QB Justin Fields, now with the Pittsburgh Steelers, moved into second place with 1,143 yards. He was ruled out of Week 18 in 2022 with an injury while only 64 yards shy of surpassing Jackson for the top spot.
NFL Season QB Rushing TDs
- 14 — 2011, Cam Newton
- 12 — 2020, Cam Newton
- 12 — 1976, Steve Grogan
While Cam Newton had a career full of ups and downs across his two stints with the Carolina Panthers, no one can argue that he wasn’t an electric and stout challenge as a runner.
Newton even crossed the end zone 12 times as a ball carrier in the 2020 season at the age of 31 during his only season with the New England Patriots.
All-Time QB Career Records
NFL All-Time Career Passing Yards Leader
- 89,214 — Tom Brady
- 80,358 — Drew Brees
- 71,940 — Peyton Manning
The Mount Rushmore of NFL QBs definitely includes all three of these signal-callers. The fact that Brady was still active up until 2022 and leads this list by almost 9,000 yards just goes to show you how impressive his numbers are.
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The top three in this category of QB passing yards records show how tough it is to stay on top in the NFL. All three have Super Bowl wins, and all three played for at least 17 seasons. That is something that could be harder and harder to do as the game speeds up. The first two and a half decades of the 2000s have undoubtedly been magical for NFL fans, though.
Aaron Rodgers is the only active NFL quarterback with more than 60,000 career passing yards; he reached the milestone in Week 5 of the 2024 season, placing him ninth overall.
NFL All-Time Career Passing Touchdowns Leader
- 649 — Tom Brady
- 571 — Drew Brees
- 539 — Peyton Manning
Again, Brady continues to find himself at the top of most of these records. With nearly 60 more career passing touchdowns than Brees, this record will likely stand for quite some time. The only active player near the top of this list is Rodgers, with 475 TDs.
Although Matthew Stafford has a chance to crack the top 10, the Los Angeles Rams QB needs 10 TDs to surpass Eli Manning at No. 10 overall. Stafford enters the 2024 season with 357 career touchdown throws.
NFL All-Time Career Pass Completion Leader
- 7,753 — Tom Brady
- 7,142 — Drew Brees
- 6,300 — Brett Favre
Brady and Brees stand alone as the only members of the 7,000 club here.
As for active passers, Rodgers ranks at No. 8 with 5,001 completions. Stafford can also replace Eli Manning in the top 10 here by completing 62 more completed passes.
NFL All-Time Career QB Rushing Leader
- 6,110 — Lamar Jackson
- 6,109 — Michael Vick
- 5,628 — Cam Newton
In a dominant 31-2 Christmas Day victory in Week 17 of the 2024 NFL season, Lamar Jackson etched his name in the NFL history books by breaking one of the league’s most revered records. With 87 rushing yards in the game, Jackson surpassed Michael Vick to become the all-time leader in rushing yards by a quarterback. The milestone was achieved with precision and flair, as Jackson’s final tally of 6,110 career rushing yards edged him past Vick’s previous record of 6,109 yards.
NFL All-Time Career Rushing TDs
- 75 — Cam Newton
- 43 — Steve Young
- 40 — Jack Kemp
Newton again showed his running prowess in helping rewrite the NFL record for career rushing touchdowns by a quarterback.
NFL QB Rookie Records
NFL Rookie Passing Yards Leader
- 4,374 — 2012, Andrew Luck
- 4,336 — 2020, Justin Herbert
- 4,108 — 2023, C.J. Stroud
Now, we turn to the rookie records. That means Brees, Brady, and many others won’t be on these lists.
The surprise name in this category is Herbert. As a rookie, the Chargers QB was only 38 yards behind Andrew Luck’s 2012 rookie record for passing yards. Additionally, Herbert only played in 15 regular season games.
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Newton’s 2011 season broke Peyton Manning’s 1998 record of 3,739 yards by 312 yards, only to have Luck come along and crush it by 323 yards the very next season. And while he fell short in 2023, Houston Texans star C.J. Stroud tossed the ball for 4,108 yards in 15 games, leading the league in passing yards per game (273.9) as a rookie.
NFL Rookie Passing Touchdowns Leader
- 31 — 2020, Justin Herbert
- 27 — 2018, Baker Mayfield
- 26 — 2012, Russell Wilson; 1998, Peyton Manning
Another surprise here is how easily Herbert took the rookie passing TD title. Herbert beat the record set by Cleveland Browns QB Baker Mayfield. Mayfield barely beat the previous record of 26, held by Wilson and Manning, but Mayfield did it in only 14 games.
NFL Rookie Pass Completion Leader
- 396 — 2020, Justin Herbert
- 379 — 2016, Carson Wentz
- 354 — 2010, Sam Bradford
Herbert almost had the rookie passing record and easily won the rookie touchdowns record, so seeing his name here isn’t a shock. Throwing 396 completions is no small feat, even if Herbert played on a Chargers offense frequently playing from behind. He also had ample short passing options to throw to, which boosted his numbers as well.
Carson Wentz and Sam Bradford are second and third on this list, respectively, but neither had long careers at the top. Wentz was benched for Jalen Hurts in 2020, and he has since become a journeyman backup.
Bradford only played in 14 or more games three times before retiring after his ninth season in the NFL. If Herbert can keep up this kind of pace for a 15-season career or more, he could be a name we start to see on the career records lists as well.