Who Leads The NFL In Sacks All Time?
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The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league consisting of 32 teams, divided equally between the National Football Conference (NFC) and the American Football Conference (AFC). The NFL is one of the four major professional sports leagues in North America, and the highest professional level of American football in the world.
NFL Sacks Leaders
There have been many great sack artists in the NFL over the years. Some have been able to accumulate a lot of sacks in a single season, while others have been more consistent over the course of their careers. Here are the leaders in sacks all time.
Michael Strahan
Michael Strahan is a retired American football defensive end who spent his entire 15-year career with the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He is currently a television host. He set a record for the most sacks in a season in 2001, and won a Super Bowl title with the Giants in 2008. As of 2019, he is the NFL’s all-time leader in sacks.
Reggie White
Reggie White, who played defensive end for the Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay Packers, and Carolina Panthers, is the NFL’s all-time leader in sacks with 198.
Bruce Smith
Bruce Smith is a former American football defensive end for the Buffalo Bills and the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL). He was a member of the Bills team that won four consecutive American Football Conference (AFC) championships from 1990 to 1993 and played in five Super Bowls. Smith was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2009, his first year of eligibility. He is considered one of the greatest defensive players of all time, holding the NFL record for career sacks with 200.
Smith was born in Norfolk, Virginia, and attended Booker T. Washington High School, where he played high school football. He then attended Virginia Tech, where he earned All-American honors playing college football for the Hokies. After being drafted by the Bills in the first round of the 1985 NFL Draft, he quickly became one of the best players in the league, winning Defensive Rookie of the Year honors. He earned Pro Bowl honors eight times throughout his career and was named First-team All-Pro six times. He led the league in sacks twice and won Defensive Player of the Year honors in 1996.
Active NFL Sacks Leaders
As of the 2019 season, here are the NFL sack leaders. These rankings include all active NFL players.
J.J. Watt
J.J. Watt is an American football defensive end for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Texans with the 11th pick in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft, and has since played eight seasons for the team. In his first two seasons, Watt earned Defensive Player of the Year honors after leading the league in sacks. He is a three-time NFL sacks leader, and holds the Texans’ franchise record for career sacks.
DeMarcus Ware
DeMarcus Ware is a retired American football defensive end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for fourteen seasons. He played college football at Troy, and was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the first round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He was also a member of the Denver Broncos, with whom he won Super Bowl 50. In his career, he produced 138 sacks, which ranks ninth all-time in NFL history,and forced 46 fumbles, recovering 11 of them for touchdowns, which ranks him second all-time among fumble recoveries for touchdowns. He also accumulated 20 tackles for losses in the playoffs, which is third all time.
Julius Peppers
Julius Peppers is a former American football defensive end who played 18 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Carolina Panthers second overall in the 2002 NFL Draft. He also played for the Chicago Bears from 2010 to 2013 and Green Bay Packers from 2014 to 2016. Peppers was a three-time Pro Bowl selection, and in his career, he amassed 159.5 sacks, ninth all time as of 2019.
Most Sacks in a Season
In the NFL, a sack occurs when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage before he can throw a forward pass, when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage in the ” pocket ” and his forward pass is ruled incomplete, or when a rusher takes down the quarterback inside or outside of the ” pocket ” and the quarterback’s forward pass is ruled incomplete. A quarterback can be sacked multiple times in a single play.
Michael Strahan
In 2001, Michael Strahan set the record for sacks in a season with 22.5. This record would stand for almost two decades, until it was finally broken by Shaquil Barrett in 2019. Barrett recorded 24 sacks in just his third season in the NFL.
Reggie White
Reggie White, who played defensive end, led the National Football League in sacks 10 times throughout his career, the most of any player in NFL history. He accomplished this feat during the seasons 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1998 and 1999. In total, White recorded 198 sacks throughout his 15 year career.
DeMarcus Ware
With a career total of 139.5, outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware is the leader in sacks in NFL history. He played 12 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys, where he was a nine-time Pro Bowler, before finishing his career with the Denver Broncos. In his final season, Ware helped the Broncos win Super Bowl 50.
