NFL Winners

All-Time NFL Passing Yards Leaders List

June 27, 2024

This list highlights the top 50 National Football League (NFL) quarterbacks with the highest 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.

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 known as rushing), are 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 if they are behind the line of scrimmage.

To qualify as a passing play, the ball must initially move forward after leaving the passer’s hands; if it moves laterally or backward, it is considered a running play. The passing yards recorded by each quarterback are a key statistic in football games.

NFL Passing Yards Leaders List

Below is a list of the all-time leading passers in NFL history.

Rank	Player	Yards	Games	Passing TDs
1	Tom Brady	89,214	335	649
2	Drew Brees	80,358	287	571
3	Peyton Manning	71,940	266	539
4	Brett Favre	71,838	302	508
5	Ben Roethlisberger	64,088	249	418
6	Philip Rivers	63,440	244	421
7	Dan Marino	61,361	242	420
8	Matt Ryan	62,792	234	381
9	Eli Manning	57,023	236	366
10	Aaron Rodgers	56,231	230	475
11	John Elway	51,475	234	300
12	Warren Moon	49,325	208	291
13	Fran Tarkenton	47,003	246	342
14	Carson Palmer	46,247	182	294
15	Vinny Testaverde	46,233	233	275
16	Drew Bledsoe	44,611	194	251
17	Matthew Stafford	43,021	182	282
18	Dan Fouts	43,040	181	254
19	Joe Flacco	42,320	183	232
20	Kerry Collins	40,922	198	208
21	Russell Wilson	40,583	182	308
22	Johnny Unitas	40,239	211	290
23	Donovan McNabb	37,276	167	234
24	Jim Kelly	35,467	160	237
25	Alex Smith	35,650	174	199
26	Boomer Esiason	37,920	187	247
27	Sonny Jurgensen	32,224	218	255
28	Steve Young	33,124	169	232
29	Norm Van Brocklin	23,611	140	173
30	Troy Aikman	32,942	165	165