Ranking the top 10 NFL quarterbacks of all-time as Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady share Super Bowl LIX

Patrick Mahomes has already cracked the list for the greatest quarterbacks of all-time.

If the Kansas City Chiefs make NFL history with their third consecutive Super Bowl trophy this weekend, Mahomes will rise even higher.

Getty

Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers and Joe Montana are also good enough for this top 10 list.

But there’s a clear number one and Mahomes will have to continue his top-level play for years to come to get closer to the true GOAT.

Below, talkSPORT ranks the best quarterbacks in NFL history on the eve of Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans this Sunday.

10. Patrick Mahomes

The Chiefs star knocked Drew Brees out of the top 10 with Kansas City’s second consecutive world championship.

While the 29-year-old Mahomes is technically young in NFL years, he’s already in the top echelon of QBs when it comes to Super Bowl rings.

Mahomes is 3-1 in the Super Bowl and his wins have been unbelievable, including three thrillers and back-to-back comeback victories.

Mahomes has also been public in his belief that he has a long way to go until he passes Tom Brady for GOAT status.

“It’s always going to be tough because Brady beat me in the Super Bowl,” Mahomes said. “That’s something he’ll always have on my head.”

But no one has been this dominant, this fast, and Mahomes is already on a surefire Hall of Fame pace.

Getty

Not bad for a former Texas Tech prospect who ran a slow 40-yard dash at the combine and now jokingly begs the NFL to stop showing his video.

Throw in the fact that Showtime has changed how the NFL is played at the QB position, and he’s football’s version of Stephen Curry while following Michael Jordan’s career path.

A historic three-peat will move Mahomes higher on this list.

The ‘lucky’ Chiefs are just one win away from record-breaking glory.

Career stats: (32,352 passing yards, 245 passing touchdowns)

9. Roger Staubach

Staubach is the first ‘old timer’ to make this list but it was impossible to exclude Captain America.

His service in the United States Navy limited his NFL stats.

But there’s no doubt that Staubach belongs and he helped create the “franchise quarterback” term that is now so widely used.

The two-time Super Bowl champion excelled through the air and on the ground, totalling 24,964 yards and 173 touchdowns.

Staubach was also the face of the Cowboys during an era when Dallas dominated TVs and The Star became synonymous with the growing power of the NFL.

(22,700 yards, 153 TDs)

Getty

8. Aaron Rodgers

Brett Favre was once viewed as irreplaceable inside Lambeau Field.

Rodgers patiently waited for his turn, then spent 18 seasons wowing Packers fans and joining Favre in Green Bay history.

The No. 24 overall pick in 2005 has made 10 Pro Bowls, been named NFL MVP four times and kept getting better with age — until he faced reality with the New York Jets.

The only thing missing from Rodgers’ trophy case is a second Super Bowl ring.

He enters the 2024 offseason facing another career crossroads.

With the Super Bowl approaching, the Jets were still waiting to learn whether Rodgers wanted to play for New York in 2025.

(62,952 yards, 503 TDs)

Getty

7. Dan Marino

More than 20 years after he threw his last pass, Marino’s powerful arm is still the stuff of NFL legend.

No one could throw the ball like Marino — and no one has since.

The Pittsburgh product redefined the possibilities of the quarterback position during his second season with the Miami Dolphins, throwing for 5,084 yards and 48 touchdowns.

talksport

He made nine Pro Bowls, won an NFL MVP and finished his 17-year career with 420 TDs.

The only drawback for Marino was the Dolphins, who made the Super Bowl with their super-armed QB but failed to win the big game.

Like Staubach, Marino was ahead of the curve and showed the NFL proof of what QBs would eventually become.

(61,361 yards, 420 TDs)

Getty

Dan Marino’s powerful arm is the stuff of NFL legend and hasn’t been recreated[/caption]

6. John Elway

The 1983 NFL Draft changed the league.

It also produced two of the greatest QBs in history.

Marino went to Miami at No. 27.

Elway was so talented that he went No. 1 overall in a first round that featured seven future Hall of Famers, then forced his way from the hapless Baltimore Colts to the Denver Broncos by threatening to play baseball for the New York Yankees.

One of the first dual-threat QBs, Elway possessed a rocket arm and a bruising body — he rushed for 3,407 yards and 33 TDs during his 16-year career.

Elway’s name is still linked with some of the NFL’s greatest moments (‘The Drive’) and he appeared in five Super Bowls, winning back-to-back trophies in 1997-98 before going out on top.

(51,475 yards, 300 TDs)

AFP

5. Brett Favre

It’s hard to imagine Mahomes’ on-the-field brilliance without Favre’s backyard magic.

Favre was the first NFL QB to do it his own way and keep winning big, year after year.

The Southern Mississippi product is also a reminder that the greatest NFL arms often break the mold and don’t have to be No. 1 picks.

Favre was taken at No. 33 overall in 1991, then barely played during his rookie year in Atlanta.

His career changed with a 1992 trade to Green Bay, where the Gunslinger joined forces with offensive-minded head coach Mike Holmgren.

Favre spent the next 18 seasons as a constant MVP contender, winning the award three times.

His next-to-last season with Minnesota should never be forgotten.

As a 40-year-old, Favre threw for 4,202 yards and 33 TDs, leading the 12-4 Vikings to the edge of the Super Bowl.

(71,838 yards, 508 TDs)

Getty

4. Johnny Unitas

Before Peyton Manning was breaking down NFL defenses, there was a Baltimore Colt who dominated football and altered the way the QB position was played

Unitas made 10 Pro Bowls, won multiple NFL championships — including Super Bowl V against Tom Landry’s Dallas Cowboys — and was named MVP three times.

Unitas totalled more than 40,000 passing yards and recorded 290 TDs during an era when running backs dominated offenses.

As big as his numbers are, it’s worth wondering how much more Unitas would have accomplished in the contemporary era.

(40,239 yards, 290 TDs)

1971 Focus on Sport

3. Peyton Manning

There was a time when Tom Brady vs Manning was a polarising debate.

A fan was either on one side or the other, and it was easy to pick Manning as the best QB in the NFL.

The Sheriff propelled football into a new age, utilising video preparation and scouting to modernise the position.

But Manning was also a throwback, inspired by legends such as Unitas and learning the sport from his father, Archie.

Manning won five MVP awards, earned 14 Pro Bowl honors, and was named Comeback Player of the Year.

His best years were with Indianapolis and his best rivalry with Brady was when the Colts and New England Patriots annually went head to head.

But Manning cemented his legacy with four final seasons in Denver, throwing for an NFL record 5,477 yards in 2013 with the Broncos and walking away as a 2015 Super Bowl winner.

(71,940 yards, 539 TDs)

Getty

At one time, Peyton Manning was in the lead in the Tom Brady vs Manning debate[/caption]

2. Joe Montana

The NFL’s original GOAT.

Montana was untouchable when he was with the San Francisco 49ers, who created a dynasty that dominated the league in the 1980s.

Paired with Jerry Rice — regarded as the best wide receiver in NFL history — the third-round pick out of Notre Dame was also Joe Cool long before Joe Burrow was a Bengal.

Montana did it the old way, watching and learning during his initial two years, then mastering Bill Walsh’s sport-changing West Coast offense.

Montana won two MVP awards and captured four Super Bowl trophies.

Like Brady, the 49ers legend was at his best in the playoffs (16-7 record) and created a body of work that is still being appreciated.

(40,551 yards, 273 TDs)

Getty Images - Getty

Long known as the best QB of all time, Joe Montana has only been topped by one[/caption]

1. Tom Brady

As good as the others are, no one comes close to Brady.

Brady had the longevity of LeBron James and the championship dominance of Michael Jordan.

The greatest NFL QB of all time has an almost 10,000-yard advantage over Brees for the most passing yards in history, while Brady threw nearly 100 more TDs than his second-place competitor.

talksport

Mahomes still has a long way to go to reach the top[/caption]

Once viewed as a system quarterback within the New England Patriots’ dynasty under Bill Belichick, the No. 199 overall pick rewrote the record book and established himself as a legendary force in the NFL.

Brady finished his career with seven Super Bowl rings and threw for 4,694 yards at age 45 with Tampa Bay.

The GOAT was so great that every year NFL fans ask the same question.

Will Brady come back and play again?

This year, he’s a Raiders co-owner and calling the Super Bowl for FOX on TV.

(89,214 yards, 649 TDs)

talkSPORT will have live commentary of Super Bowl LIX from New Orleans with Will Gavin, Jeff Reinebold and Gregg Rosenthal and you can enjoy our watchalong on the talkSPORT End Zone YouTube Channel