Tom Brady has the most passing touchdowns in NFL history with 649 in the regular season. Drew Brees is second with 571, Peyton Manning is third with 539, Aaron Rodgers ranks fourth with 527 and Brett Favre rounds out the top five with 508.
This all-time leaderboard covers career regular-season touchdown passes through the end of the 2025 NFL season. Postseason touchdowns are not included. The complete table extends to 100 players and contains only the rank, player name and passing-touchdown total.
Career touchdown passes measure cumulative scoring production, so this is an objective statistical list rather than a subjective ranking of quarterback ability. For a broader evaluation of peak play, awards and postseason success, see our best quarterbacks of all-time.
For more football history, records and rankings, visit the SOG Sports NFL hub and follow @SOGFootball on Instagram.
Key Facts
- All-time leader: Tom Brady, 649 passing touchdowns
- Second place: Drew Brees, 571
- Active leader through 2025: Aaron Rodgers, 527
- Players with at least 500: Brady, Brees, Manning, Rodgers and Favre
- No. 100 on the complete table: Billy Kilmer, 152
- Stat scope: Regular season only, through the 2025 season
How This List Works
Players are ordered by career regular-season passing touchdowns. The total credited to each passer is the only performance metric used to determine placement. Passing yards, efficiency, wins, awards and playoff results do not change the order.
The totals reflect the NFL’s current historical record, including recognized AFL and AAFC statistics where applicable. Players with the same number of touchdown passes retain the displayed leaderboard order and receive consecutive row numbers. That is why two players can show the same total at different ranks.
Active players can continue to move after the cutoff. The totals were reviewed on August 9, 2026, but no 2026 regular-season statistics are included.
How to Compare Passing Touchdowns Across Eras
Career touchdown totals are shaped by opportunity as well as performance. Early NFL schedules were shorter, passing rules were less favorable and offenses threw less often. Modern quarterbacks benefit from longer seasons, greater passing volume and rules designed to protect passers and receivers.
That context makes Dan Marino’s 420 touchdown passes especially notable. He retired after the 1999 season yet remains eighth. Fran Tarkenton, Johnny Unitas, Sonny Jurgensen, Y. A. Tittle and other earlier stars also rank highly despite playing in lower-volume passing environments.
Volume still matters because maintaining a starting role and producing touchdowns over many seasons are central to the record. Readers who want to compare scoring totals with another major career measure can also view the most passing yards in NFL history.
Table of Contents
10. Matt Ryan — 381 Passing Touchdowns
Career regular-season passing touchdowns: 381
Matt Ryan closes the top 10 with 381 touchdown passes. His defining peak came in 2016, when he threw 38 touchdowns, led the league in passer rating and won NFL MVP. That season displayed his best traits: anticipation, accuracy and command before the snap.
Ryan’s place is also a product of sustained output. He posted double-digit touchdown totals in every season from 2008 through 2021 and finished with nine seasons of at least 25. The result is a career total that remains well clear of the next player on the list.
9. Ben Roethlisberger — 418 Passing Touchdowns
Career regular-season passing touchdowns: 418
Ben Roethlisberger ranks ninth with 418 touchdown passes. His size, arm strength and ability to extend broken plays made him one of the era’s most difficult quarterbacks to defend. He produced at least 25 touchdown passes seven times and reached a career-high 34 in 2018.
Roethlisberger spent 18 seasons in the NFL, started 247 regular-season games and won two Super Bowls. This leaderboard does not count his 36 postseason touchdown passes, but his regular-season total alone places him among the nine most productive touchdown passers ever.
8. Dan Marino — 420 Passing Touchdowns
Career regular-season passing touchdowns: 420
Dan Marino ranks eighth with 420 touchdown passes. His 1984 MVP season changed expectations for the position: Marino threw a then-record 48 touchdowns in only his second NFL season. No other quarterback reached 40 in a season until Kurt Warner did it 15 years later.
Marino led the league in touchdown passes three straight times from 1984 through 1986 and finished his career as the record holder. Remaining in the top 10 decades after retirement is a powerful indicator of how far his production stood above the standards of his era.
7. Matthew Stafford — 423 Passing Touchdowns
Career regular-season passing touchdowns: 423
Matthew Stafford ranks seventh with 423 touchdown passes through 2025. He moved from outside the top 10 to seventh by throwing a league-high 46 touchdowns in 2025, the second-highest single-season total of his career.
Stafford has combined elite arm talent with exceptional durability and high passing volume. He has produced at least 20 touchdown passes in 13 seasons and threw 41 during his 2011 breakout. His career also includes a Super Bowl title, although postseason scores are excluded from this table.
6. Philip Rivers — 425 Passing Touchdowns
Career regular-season passing touchdowns: 425
Philip Rivers ranks sixth with 425 touchdown passes. He originally retired after the 2020 season with 421, then returned during the 2025 season and added four more. That comeback moved him back ahead of Stafford at the cutoff.
Rivers was selected to eight Pro Bowls and led the league with 34 touchdown passes in 2008. His anticipation, competitiveness and durability supported one of the longest runs of reliable quarterback production in NFL history, even though he never appeared in a Super Bowl.
5. Brett Favre — 508 Passing Touchdowns
Career regular-season passing touchdowns: 508
Brett Favre ranks fifth with 508 touchdown passes and was the first quarterback to reach 500. He led the league in touchdown passes four times, including three consecutive seasons from 1995 through 1997 while winning three straight MVP awards.
Favre’s powerful arm and aggressive approach generated historic highs along with plenty of risk. His record 297 consecutive regular-season starts gave him the longevity to remain productive across 20 seasons, and he held the career touchdown-pass record until Peyton Manning passed him in 2014.
4. Aaron Rodgers — 527 Passing Touchdowns
Career regular-season passing touchdowns: 527
Aaron Rodgers ranks fourth with 527 touchdown passes through 2025. He passed Favre during the season and became the fourth player to move beyond 500. His four MVP awards and two seasons with at least 45 touchdown passes show the height of his scoring production.
Rodgers is distinct on this leaderboard because he paired volume with rare ball security. At the cutoff, he had more than four touchdown passes for every interception across his career. That efficiency does not alter his placement, but it adds important context to his 527 touchdowns.
3. Peyton Manning — 539 Passing Touchdowns
Career regular-season passing touchdowns: 539
Peyton Manning ranks third with 539 touchdown passes. He led the NFL in the category four times and owns the single-season record with 55 in 2013. That record-setting year also produced 5,477 passing yards and Manning’s fifth MVP award.
Manning’s ability to diagnose defenses and change plays at the line made him the defining field general of his generation. He reached at least 25 touchdown passes in 16 seasons and retired as the career leader before Brees and Brady eventually moved ahead.
2. Drew Brees — 571 Passing Touchdowns
Career regular-season passing touchdowns: 571
Drew Brees ranks second with 571 touchdown passes. He threw at least 30 in 10 seasons and led the league four times, including consecutive 40-touchdown campaigns in 2011 and 2012. His precision and timing supported historic volume without sacrificing accuracy.
Brees also threw a touchdown pass in 54 consecutive games, an NFL record that surpassed Johnny Unitas’ long-standing mark. He retired after the 2020 season as the career leader in completions and passing yards and remains one of only five quarterbacks with 500 touchdown passes.
1. Tom Brady — 649 Passing Touchdowns
Career regular-season passing touchdowns: 649
Tom Brady holds the NFL record with 649 career touchdown passes. He finished 78 ahead of Brees and 110 ahead of Manning. Brady led the league in touchdown passes five times and produced three seasons with at least 40, including 50 during his 2007 MVP campaign.
Longevity separated Brady from every other passer. He threw touchdown passes in 23 seasons, recorded 25 or more in 17 of them and remained an elite scorer into his 40s. His 88 playoff touchdown passes are also the postseason record, but they are not part of the 649 shown here.
Leaderboard Takeaways
Brady’s lead is substantial
Brady’s 78-touchdown advantage over Brees is larger than the gap between Brees and Rodgers. A quarterback would need more than three strong 25-touchdown seasons just to cover the distance between first and second.
The 500-touchdown club remains exclusive
Only Brady, Brees, Manning, Rodgers and Favre have reached 500 regular-season touchdown passes. Rivers is next at 425, leaving an 83-touchdown gap between fifth and sixth.
The middle of the top 10 is extremely tight
Rivers, Stafford, Marino and Roethlisberger are separated by only seven touchdowns from sixth through ninth. Stafford remains active at the 2025 cutoff, making that cluster one of the leaderboard’s most likely areas to change.
Historical context matters
The list includes passers from dramatically different offensive environments. Otto Graham’s recognized AAFC production, Unitas’ dominance in the 1950s and 1960s, Marino’s record pace in the 1980s and the modern league’s high-volume passing all contribute to the same cumulative table.
Top 100 Most Passing Touchdowns in NFL History
The table below lists the top 100 career regular-season passing-touchdown leaders through the 2025 season. It contains only rank, player and passing touchdowns, as requested.
| Rank | Player | Passing TDs |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tom Brady | 649 |
| 2 | Drew Brees | 571 |
| 3 | Peyton Manning | 539 |
| 4 | Aaron Rodgers | 527 |
| 5 | Brett Favre | 508 |
| 6 | Philip Rivers | 425 |
| 7 | Matthew Stafford | 423 |
| 8 | Dan Marino | 420 |
| 9 | Ben Roethlisberger | 418 |
| 10 | Matt Ryan | 381 |
| 11 | Eli Manning | 366 |
| 12 | Russell Wilson | 353 |
| 13 | Fran Tarkenton | 342 |
| 14 | John Elway | 300 |
| 15 | Kirk Cousins | 298 |
| 16 | Carson Palmer | 294 |
| 17 | Warren Moon | 291 |
| 18 | Johnny Unitas | 290 |
| 19 | Vinny Testaverde | 275 |
| 20 | Joe Montana | 273 |
| 21 | Joe Flacco | 272 |
| 22 | Patrick Mahomes | 267 |
| 23 | Dave Krieg | 261 |
| 24 | Derek Carr | 257 |
| 25 | Jared Goff | 256 |
| 26 | Sonny Jurgensen | 255 |
| 27 | Andy Dalton | 254 |
| 28 | Dan Fouts | 254 |
| 29 | Drew Bledsoe | 251 |
| 30 | Tony Romo | 248 |
| 31 | Boomer Esiason | 247 |
| 32 | John Hadl | 244 |
| 33 | Dak Prescott | 243 |
| 34 | Y. A. Tittle | 242 |
| 35 | Len Dawson | 239 |
| 36 | Jim Kelly | 237 |
| 37 | George Blanda | 236 |
| 38 | Donovan McNabb | 234 |
| 39 | Steve Young | 232 |
| 40 | Jay Cutler | 227 |
| 41 | Ryan Fitzpatrick | 223 |
| 42 | Josh Allen | 220 |
| 43 | Ryan Tannehill | 216 |
| 44 | John Brodie | 214 |
| 45 | Terry Bradshaw | 212 |
| 46 | Matt Hasselbeck | 212 |
| 47 | Jim Hart | 209 |
| 48 | Kerry Collins | 208 |
| 49 | Kurt Warner | 208 |
| 50 | Randall Cunningham | 207 |
| 51 | Jim Everett | 203 |
| 52 | Roman Gabriel | 201 |
| 53 | Phil Simms | 199 |
| 54 | Alex Smith | 199 |
| 55 | Ken Anderson | 197 |
| 56 | Baker Mayfield | 197 |
| 57 | Steve DeBerg | 196 |
| 58 | Joe Ferguson | 196 |
| 59 | Bobby Layne | 196 |
| 60 | Norm Snead | 196 |
| 61 | Cam Newton | 194 |
| 62 | Ken Stabler | 194 |
| 63 | Bob Griese | 192 |
| 64 | Sammy Baugh | 187 |
| 65 | Lamar Jackson | 187 |
| 66 | Mark Brunell | 184 |
| 67 | Craig Morton | 183 |
| 68 | Steve Grogan | 182 |
| 69 | Rich Gannon | 180 |
| 70 | Ron Jaworski | 179 |
| 71 | Babe Parilli | 178 |
| 72 | Otto Graham | 174 |
| 73 | Steve McNair | 174 |
| 74 | Charlie Conerly | 173 |
| 75 | Joe Namath | 173 |
| 76 | Archie Manning | 172 |
| 77 | Andrew Luck | 171 |
| 78 | Chris Chandler | 170 |
| 79 | Charley Johnson | 170 |
| 80 | Jon Kitna | 169 |
| 81 | Brad Johnson | 166 |
| 82 | Troy Aikman | 165 |
| 83 | Daryle Lamonica | 164 |
| 84 | Jim Plunkett | 164 |
| 85 | Justin Herbert | 163 |
| 86 | Trent Green | 162 |
| 87 | Jeff Garcia | 161 |
| 88 | Earl Morrall | 161 |
| 89 | Jake Plummer | 161 |
| 90 | Joe Theismann | 160 |
| 91 | Tommy Kramer | 159 |
| 92 | Carson Wentz | 159 |
| 93 | Joe Burrow | 157 |
| 94 | Steve Bartkowski | 156 |
| 95 | Jameis Winston | 156 |
| 96 | Danny White | 155 |
| 97 | Jeff George | 154 |
| 98 | Brian Sipe | 154 |
| 99 | Roger Staubach | 153 |
| 100 | Billy Kilmer | 152 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Who has the most passing touchdowns in NFL history?
Tom Brady is the all-time regular-season leader with 649 passing touchdowns.
Who is second in career passing touchdowns?
Drew Brees ranks second with 571 passing touchdowns, 78 behind Brady.
Who is the active leader through the 2025 season?
Aaron Rodgers is the active leader at the cutoff with 527 career passing touchdowns. Matthew Stafford is the next-highest active passer with 423.
How many quarterbacks have thrown 500 touchdown passes?
Five quarterbacks have reached 500 regular-season touchdown passes: Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers and Brett Favre.
Are playoff touchdown passes included?
No. Every total in the table is a regular-season career figure. Postseason touchdown passes are excluded.
Why do players with the same total have different ranks?
The table preserves the source leaderboard’s displayed order and uses consecutive row numbers. Equal totals therefore remain equal in value even when their displayed ranks differ.
Who is No. 100 in career passing touchdowns?
Billy Kilmer is No. 100 with 152 regular-season passing touchdowns through 2025.
Conclusion
Tom Brady’s 649 touchdown passes remain the standard in NFL history. Brees and Manning are the only other players above 530, while Rodgers and Favre complete the exclusive group of five to reach 500.
The complete top 100 shows how the record spans every era of professional football. Modern passing volume dominates the top, but historic names such as Unitas, Jurgensen, Graham and Baugh remain prominent after the league’s current record recognition is applied.
For more all-time lists, current rankings and football debates, visit the NFL hub and follow @SOGFootball on Instagram.
