Who is the All Time Greatest Football Player?
We are compiling a list of the greatest players from the sport of American football, which will then be voted on and the winner placed on the shortlist of the all time greatest athlete ever (all sports).
The first stage is to get nominations for American football before the vote is started. See the current list below of top athletes, compiled using other published lists and visitor feedback. If you believe that there is someone missing from this list, please send a message, including any relevant details about the person.
A somewhat similar poll to determine the Greatest Pro Football Athlete of All Time was conducted on the ESPN Sport Science website in 2013 - looking for the greatest athlete, not player, from the sport of American football.
American football gameAmerican Football Greatest List
The athletes below are listed in alphabetical order - once the shortlist is complete then you will be able to vote for who you think is the greatest of all. This list is not complete - if you know of someone who should be listed here, let us know using the comment form below.
| name | notes |
|---|---|
| Adrian Peterson | Ran for 2,097 yards during 2012 season. In high school he ran 10.33 secs for the 100m. |
| Barry Sanders | One of three players in NFL history with more than 15,000 rushing yards. |
| Brett Favre | |
| Calvin Johnson | he set NFL record with 1,964 receiving yards in a single season (2012). Only player in NFL history with eight straight 100-yard receiving games. |
| Dan Marino | |
| Don Maynard | Wide Receiver |
| Emit Smith | |
| Herschel Walker | |
| Jerry Rice | Wide Receiver. NFL record holder in career receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. 13 career Pro Bowl selections. |
| Jim Brown | In 2002, he was named by Sporting News as the greatest professional football player ever. Brown averaged 104.3 rushing yards per game, the most in NFL history. He led the league in rushing in eight of his nine seasons. A great all-around athlete, at Syracuse he earned 10 varsity letters in four different sports (basketball, football, lacrosse, track). |
| Joe Montana | Quarterback. 3-time Super Bowl MVP. |
| John Elway | Quarterback. Elway ranks in top 5 in NFL history in career pass attempts, pass completions and passing yards. He ran more than 3,000 yards with 300 touchdown passes in his career. |
| Johnny Unitas | |
| Lawerence Taylor | Defense. Only player to win AP Defensive Player of the Year three times. |
| Peyton Manning | |
| Reggie White | Second in NFL history with 198 career sacks. 13 career Pro Bowl selections, tied for second most all time. |
| Steve Young | 43 career rushing touchdowns, most by a quarterback in NFL history. Third all-time in career rushing yards by a quarterback. During his senior year at High School, he was co-captain of the football, basketball and baseball teams. |
| Tom Brady | |
| Tony Gonzalez | 13 career Pro Bowl selections. He had the most career receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns for NFL tight ends. Second in NFL history with 1,242 career receptions. |
| Walter Payton |
Related Pages
- About the ESPN poll of the Greatest Football Athlete of All Time
- More about American Football
- All time greatest index of sports
- Other sport specific lists
- More about the World of Sport
Any comments, suggestions, or corrections? Please let us know.
Old Comments
Commenting is closed on this page, though you can read some previous comments below which may answer some of your questions.
- missing on your list: Dick Butkus, MLB, 5xAll-Pro(1st), 8xProBowl. Most feared linebacker in NFL history. Cannonkat (2016)
- jim brown. Amanda Nemaric (2016)
- Despite his off field dilemma I feel O. J. was, to me, the best back in the NFL. He had the speed, the power and agility to go the distance. I loved to see him go up the middle, cut right or left - give you a stiff arm and follow the Electric Light Company to the end zone. Bob (2016)
- What about Bo Jackson. The best 2 sport athlete in American pro sports. Jgoodz (2013)
- Uh, no Randy Moss? (from mike, Apr 2013)
- Adrian Peterson is the most dominant running back ever (from lil JB, Mar 2013)
- Jim brown by far. another close player is Lawrence Taylor. (from Adam, Aug 2012)
- I think Peyton Manning was better (from James, Apr 2011)
- What about Tom Brady, I believe he is a better athlete than Peyton Manning (from Cody, Dec 2010)
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