We look at the passing leaders throughout NFL history, from the most passing yards in a game, to the most passing yards in a season, to the most passing yards in a career.
What is a passing yard?
A passing yard is the total distance a quarterback's completed passes have traveled.
Passing yards take into account the distance of the throw and the distance travelled by a receiver after reception.
Most passing yards in NFL history
Tom Brady has the most passing yards in NFL history with 89,214 regular season yards. Brady also leads in post-season yards, with 13,400.
Brady is nearly 10,000 yards clear of his nearest rival, Drew Brees, who is nearly 10,000 clear of Peyton Manning in third.
| 89,214 yards |
| 80,358 yards |
| 71,490 yards |
| 71,838 yards |
| 64,088 yards |
Most passing yards in a season
Despite leading the NFL in career passing yards, Tom Brady is eclipsed by Peyton Manning and Drew Brees for most yards in a season. Brees set the record for the most passing yards in a season with 5,476 in 2011, before Manning went exactly one yard better two years later.
Dan Marino was the first of seven players to clear 5,000 yards, doing so for the Miami Dolphins in 1984. In NFL history, the 5,000-yard mark has been passed 10 times in a single season, with Brees accounting for three of them.
| 5,477 yards |
| 5,476 yards |
| 5,316 yards |
| 5,250 yards |
| 5,208 yards |
Most passing yards in a game
In total, 22 men make up the NFL's '500 Club' of players to have thrown for 500 yards in a game, with Norm Van Brocklin the first to achieve the feat in 1951 (setting a record that still stands today).
Kirk Cousins is the most recent addition following the Atlanta Falcons' 36-30 overtime win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Drew Brees and Tom Brady are the only men to have thrown for 500 yards twice, with Ben Roethlisberger managing it a record four times.
Player: | Yardage: | Match: | Date: |
| 554 yards | Rams v Yanks | 28th September 1951 |
| 527 yards | Oilers v Chiefs | 16th December 1990 |
| 527 yards | Texans v Jaguars | 18th November 2012 |
| 525 yards | Bengals v Ravens | 26th December 2021 |
| 522 yards | Steelers v Colts | 26th October 2014 |
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