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Preview data: all rankings, scores, votes, refresh labels, methodology, testing and editorial-process statements in Top 49 are illustrative demo content, not live measurements or documented reviews.
Rank 01—No changeEditor’s pick
#1 in NFL Players of All Time
of 20 ranked entries
Tom Brady
Quarterback · Patriots, Buccaneers · 2000–2022
Seven Super Bowl rings — more than any single franchise other than the Patriots has won — spread across two decades and two teams, retiring with the career passing yardage and touchdown records still standing untouched. Recorded specifics: position Quarterback, primary team New England Patriots, debut 2000. Panel highlighted seven Super Bowl championships across two franchises, all-time career leader in passing yards and touchdowns and started a Super Bowl at 43 years old and won it. The reservation on record is a sixth-round draft pick’s early-career numbers were modest by any standard.
Quarterback
Score breakdown
How Tom Brady earned 97.7
Each criterion is scored independently, then combined using the weights published on NFL Players of All Time.
- Peak dominance at positionweight 30%
- 98.7
- Influence on how the position is playedweight 25%
- 97.2
- Championship & individual honoursweight 25%
- 95.8
- Longevity & durabilityweight 20%
- 99.4
“Drafted 199th overall in 2000 — still the most cited example of scouting failure in league history.”
— Top 49, on NFL Players of All Time
On the record
Recorded detail
| Position | Quarterback |
|---|---|
| Primary team | New England Patriots |
| Debut | 2000 |
| Championships | 7 |
| Rating | 9.9 |
Panel verdict
Strengths and reservations
What it gets right
- Seven Super Bowl championships across two franchises
- All-time career leader in passing yards and touchdowns
- Started a Super Bowl at 43 years old and won it
Where it gives ground
- A sixth-round draft pick’s early-career numbers were modest by any standard
From the same list
Ranked alongside it
Rank 02Editor’s pickJerry Rice
Wide Receiver · 49ers, Raiders · 1985–2004
The all-time leader in receiving yards and touchdowns by a margin so wide the next name on either list is barely a rival. Twenty seasons of route-running precision that never noticeably slowed with age.
96.5/100 Top 49 score—No change
Rank 03Editor’s pickJim Brown
Running Back · Cleveland Browns · 1957–1965
Walked away at 29, still the league’s active rushing leader, after eight rushing titles in nine professional seasons. No back since has combined that level of statistical dominance with a career this short by choice.
94.6/100 Top 49 score4Up 4
Rank 04Lawrence Taylor
Linebacker · New York Giants · 1981–1993
Redefined the outside linebacker as a full-time pass rusher and forced offensive coordinators to redesign protection schemes around him. Still the only primarily defensive player to win NFL MVP in the Super Bowl era.
92.5/100 Top 49 score—No change
Rank 05Peyton Manning
Quarterback · Colts, Broncos · 1998–2015
Five NFL MVPs, the most any player has won, built on a pre-snap command of opposing defenses that occasionally looked like the defense was running his script instead of its own.
92.4/100 Top 49 score2Up 2
Rank 06Reggie White
Defensive End · Eagles, Packers · 1985–2000
“The Minister of Defense” retired with 198 career sacks, second only to Bruce Smith, generated by a combination of power and first-step quickness offensive tackles of his era simply had no answer for.
91.2/100 Top 49 score2Up 2
Rank 07Joe Montana
Quarterback · 49ers, Chiefs · 1979–1994
Four Super Bowl appearances, four Super Bowl wins, three Super Bowl MVPs — a perfect record on the sport’s biggest stage that “Joe Cool” built on a calm that never seemed to register the moment as pressure.
90.0/100 Top 49 score—No change
Rank 08Walter Payton
Running Back · Chicago Bears · 1975–1987
“Sweetness” held the career rushing record for nearly two decades and missed almost nothing along the way, playing through injuries that would have ended a less durable career several times over.
87.8/100 Top 49 score2Down 2
Rank 09Deion Sanders
Cornerback · Falcons, 49ers, Cowboys · 1989–2005
“Prime Time” was covered so effectively that offenses simply stopped throwing to his side of the field, a form of dominance the box score barely captures. The only athlete ever to appear in both a Super Bowl and a World Series.
87.6/100 Top 49 score4Up 4
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Top 49 rankings are editorial. Scores are produced from the published criteria on each list and are refreshed on the cadence stated there. Figures shown across this section are curated demonstration data.