Who Has The Most Passing Yards In The NFL Ever?

Looking for the answer to the question, “Who has the most passing yards in the NFL ever?” Look no further! We have the answer, along with some other interesting facts and figures about the NFL’s top passers.

NFL History

The NFL began in 1920 with eleven teams. This has increased to the current thirty-two. Of these teams, the Green Bay Packers have the most championships with thirteen. The most passing yards in the NFL ever was in 2011 by Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints.

Most Passing Yards in a Season

In the National Football League (NFL), the record for the most passing yards in a season is held by Peyton Manning, who threw for 5,477 yards in the 2013 season. Tom Brady is second on the list, having thrown for 5,235 yards in the 2011 season. Drew Brees holds the third spot, with 5,208 passing yards in the 2016 season.

Most Passing Yards in a Career

The most passing yards in an NFL career belongs to Brett Favre. He played for 20 seasons and racked up 71,838 passing yards.

quarterbacks

Peyton Manning has the most passing yards in NFL history. He played 18 seasons and threw for 71,940 yards. He is followed by Drew Brees, who has thrown for 71,740 yards in 16 seasons.

Peyton Manning

Peyton Manning is a retired American football quarterback who played 18 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Indianapolis Colts. He is one of only two quarterbacks to win the Super Bowl MVP Award five times, along with Bart Starr. He was named to 14 Pro Bowls, tied for second most of any player in NFL history. He holds many NFL records, including most career touchdown passes (539) and passing yards (71,940).

Brett Favre

Brett Favre is a former American football quarterback who spent the majority of his career with the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He also briefly played for the New York Jets and Minnesota Vikings. Favre was considered by many to be one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. After a stellar college career at Southern Mississippi, he was selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the second round of the 1991 NFL Draft, but traded before ever playing a game with them.

Favre became the Packers’ starting quarterback in 1992 and held that position for 16 seasons, during which he led the team to nine divisional championships, five NFC Championship Games, and two Super Bowls, winning one in 1997. In 2007, he returned to Wisconsin to play for the Minnesota Vikings. Favre holds many NFL records including most career passing yards (71,838), most career passing touchdowns (508), most consecutive starts by a player at any position (297), and most wins as a starting quarterback (186). At the time of his retirement, he was ranked first all-time in passing yards and touchdowns in NFL history; his 71,838 passing yards were second behind only Peyton Manning’s 72,940 in 2019.

Drew Brees

Drew Brees currently holds the NFL record for most passing yards in a career with 80,358. He surpasses Peyton Manning who had previously held the record with 71,940 passing yards. Drew Brees has played in the NFL for 19 seasons, 17 of which were with the New Orleans Saints. He has been selected to 13 Pro Bowls and was named Super Bowl XLIV MVP after leading the Saints to their first ever Super Bowl win.

Wide Receivers

Jerry Rice is the NFL’s all-time leader in receiving yards with 22,895. He is followed by Randy Moss with 15,292 and Terrell Owens with 15,934.

Jerry Rice

Jerry Rice is widely considered to be the greatest wide receiver in NFL history, and it’s hard to argue with that claim. He holds virtually every receiving record worth having, including most catches (1,549), most yards (22,895), and most touchdown catches (197). He was named first-team All-Pro 10 times, and was voted to 13 Pro Bowls in his 20-year career.

Randy Moss

Moss played college football for Marshall University, and twice earned All-American honors. He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the first round of the 1998 NFL Draft, where he played for seven years before a trade in 2005 brought him to the Oakland Raiders. On April 29, 2007, Moss was traded to the New England Patriots for a fourth-round draft pick. He played for the Patriots for three years before returning to the Vikings in 2010. He played there for two more seasons before signing with the San Francisco 49ers in 2012. After a one-year stint with the 49ers, he returned to the Vikings in 2014. Moss announced his retirement from professional football on August 1, 2018.

Moss holds many NFL receiving records, including single-season touchdown receptions (23 in 2007), single-season receiving yards (1,848 in 2003), most touchdown receptions in a rookie season (17 in 1998), and most consecutive seasons with 10 or more touchdown receptions (9). His 160 career touchdown receptions are second only to Jerry Rice’s 197 career touchdowns. In 2010, he became the fourth wide receiver and twelfth player overall inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Terrell Owens

In his 15-year career, Owens amassed 1,078 receptions for 15,934 yards and 153 touchdowns in 219 games. A six-time Pro Bowler, Owens holds or shares several NFL records. His 15,934 career receiving yards rank second in NFL history and his 153 receiving touchdowns rank third. As of the end of the 2010 season, Owens ranked first in NFL history with an average of 95.7 receiving yards per game and eighth with 76.8 receiving yards per game over his entire career.

Running Backs

Adrian Peterson, with 14,860 career passing yards, is the most prominent running back in the NFL. He holds the record for the most rushing yards in a single game, and is the only player to have three games with 200+ rushing yards.

Emmitt Smith

Emmitt Smith is a former professional American football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for fifteen seasons. During his career, he set and still holds many NFL records. Smith grew up in Florida and played high school football before attending the University of Florida, where he set numerous college football records over two seasons. After college, he was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the first round of the 1990 NFL draft and had an immediate impact on the team. He won several individual and team awards while establishing himself as one of the league’s best players during his time with Dallas.

Smith played thirteen seasons with the Cowboys, helped them win three Super Bowl championships, and was named the league’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) after leading the league in rushing yards in 1993. He then played with the Arizona Cardinals for two seasons before retiring as a player in 2004. Since his retirement from playing, Smith has pursued a successful career as a television personality and co-hosted Emmitt Smith Picks from 2008 to 2010 on ESPNU. In 2010, he joined Dancing with the Stars as one of that season’s contestants, finishing in second place behind Jennifer Grey.

Walter Payton

Walter Jerry Payton (July 25, 1954 – November 1, 1999) was an American football running back who played for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL) for thirteen seasons. Payton was known around the NFL as “Sweetness”.

Payton became a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993. He was named to the NFL’s 75th Anniversary All-Time Team, the NFL 1960s All-Decade Team, and the NFL 1970s All-Decade Team. He was also one of only four players to be named to both the 1960s and 1970s All-Decade Teams. He died on November 1, 1999, after a rare liver disease at age 45.

Barry Sanders

Barry Sanders (born July 16, 1968) is a former American football running back. He played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Detroit Lions from 1989 to 1998. A pro-bowl invitee in each of his 10 NFL seasons, Sanders was named the NFL Most Valuable Player after the 1997 season, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest running backs of all time. In his time with the Lions, he rushed for over 1,000 yards in six out of ten NFL seasons, and wasGiven All-Pro status five times.