NFL Passing Yardage Record

On Monday night, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees broke the NFL record for career passing yardage. He holds a bunch of passing records. By the time he's done, he's sure to hold a bunch more. At 39, he's still throwing the ball beautifully so it might be a while before he's done. Watching Brees hit rookie receiver Tre'Quan Smith for a 62-yard touchdown to break the record held by Peyton Manning reminded me of watching Fran Tarkenton break that same record in 1976 when it was held by Johnny Unitas. There was a lot more attention focused on Brees' moment in New Orleans than there was on Tarkenton that Halloween afternoon in Chicago. There was no Hall of Fame representative in white gloves. There was no family presence on the sideline. There weren't as many cameras. It was a different time.

Monday was the fifth time that I've seen the NFL career passing yardage broken. Thinking about that progression got me thinking about the history of the quarterbacks that have held the record. The NFL didn't start keeping official non-scoring statistics until 1932. So the career passing yardage record starts then. 

Arnie Herber (11 years as record holder)

set record in 1932

retired in 1944 with 8041 yards

Sammy Baugh (12 years as record holder)

set record in 1943

retired in 1952 with 21,886 yards

Otto Graham (4 years as record holder)

set record in 1955

retired in 1955 with 23,584 yards-total includes 4 years in the AAFC

Bobby Layne (3 years as record holder)

set record in 1959

retired in 1962 with 26,768 yards

Y.A. Tittle (4 years as record holder)

set record in 1962

retired in 1964 with 33,070 yards-total includes 2 years in AAFC

Johnny Unitas (10 years as record holder)

set record in 1966

retired in 1973 with 40,239 yards

Fran Tarkenton (19 years as record holder)

set record in 1976

retired in 1978 with 47,003 yards

Dan Marino (12 years as record holder)

set record in 1995

retired in 1999 with 61,361 yards

Brett Favre (8 years as record holder)

set record in 2007

retired in 2010 with 71,838 yards

Peyton Manning (3 years as record holder)

set record in 2015

retired in 2015 with 71,940 yards

Drew Brees (clock has started as record holder)

set record in 2018

72,103 and counting. 

***

Fran Tarkenton held the record for an incredible 19 years. He's also the only holder of the record whose successor wasn't active at any point during his career. That partly explains how he held the record for so long.

At nine years, Sammy Baugh played the longest as the holder of the record. 

Warren Moon would've made an appearance on this list between Dan Marino and Brett Favre if his CFL stats were included. Moon threw for 70,553 in his professional football career. 21,228 yards from in the CFL and 49,325 yards in the NFL. The rules used in the CFL are so different that it can be considered a whole other game.

Speaking of a whole other game. Today's NFL is nothing like the NFL of Arnie Herber, Sammy Baugh, Otto Graham, Bobby Layne, Y.A. Tittle, Johnny Unitas, and Fran Tarkenton. Rules designed to help and protect the quarterback have made passing today a breeze (a Brees?). Today's NFL is a far different game and passing numbers have soared to a whole other orbit.

If Drew Brees and Sean Payton had united in 2001 rather than 2006, Brees might be threatening the 100,000 threshold before he retired.

Congratulation to Drew Brees on a brilliant NFL career and joining a great group of quarterbacks.