List of National Football League career passing yards leaders
This is a list of National Football League quarterbacks by total career passing yards. This list includes the top 50 quarterbacks who have the most career passing yards during the regular season.
Regular season career passing yards leaders
| ^ | Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame |
| * | Denotes player who is still active in the NFL |
Through end of season
| Rank | Player | Team by season | Y/G | |
| 1 | * | San Diego Chargers New Orleans Saints | 77,416 | 281.5 |
| 2 | * | New England Patriots Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 74,571 | 261.7 |
| 3 | Indianapolis Colts Denver Broncos | 71,940 | 270.5 | |
| 4 | ^ | Atlanta Falcons Green Bay Packers New York Jets Minnesota Vikings | 71,838 | 237.9 |
| 5 | ^ | Miami Dolphins | 61,361 | 253.6 |
| 6 | * | San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers Indianapolis Colts | 59,271 | 260.0 |
| 7 | New York Giants | 57,023 | 241.6 | |
| 8 | * | Pittsburgh Steelers | 56,545 | 259.4 |
| 9 | ^ | Denver Broncos | 51,475 | 220.0 |
| 10 | * | Atlanta Falcons | 51,186 | 270.8 |
| 11 | ^ | Houston Oilers Minnesota Vikings Seattle Seahawks Kansas City Chiefs | 49,325 | 237.1 |
| 12 | ^ | Minnesota Vikings New York Giants | 47,003 | 191.1 |
| 13 | * | Green Bay Packers | 46,946 | 259.4 |
| 14 | Cincinnati Bengals Oakland Raiders Arizona Cardinals | 46,247 | 254.1 | |
| 15 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers Cleveland Browns Baltimore Ravens New York Jets Dallas Cowboys New England Patriots Carolina Panthers | 46,233 | 198.4 | |
| 16 | New England Patriots Buffalo Bills Dallas Cowboys | 44,611 | 230.0 | |
| 17 | ^ | San Diego Chargers | 43,040 | 237.8 |
| 18 | * | Detroit Lions | 41,025 | 275.3 |
| 19 | Carolina Panthers New Orleans Saints New York Giants Oakland Raiders Tennessee Titans Indianapolis Colts | 40,922 | 206.7 | |
| 20 | ^ | San Francisco 49ers Kansas City Chiefs | 40,551 | 211.2 |
| 21 | ^ | Baltimore Colts San Diego Chargers | 40,239 | 190.7 |
| 22 | Baltimore Ravens Denver Broncos, New York Jets | 40,067 | 234.3 | |
| 23 | Seattle Seahawks Kansas City Chiefs Detroit Lions Arizona Cardinals Chicago Bears Tennessee Oilers | 38,147 | 179.1 | |
| 24 | Cincinnati Bengals New York Jets Arizona Cardinals | 37,920 | 202.8 | |
| 25 | Philadelphia Eagles Washington Redskins Minnesota Vikings | 37,276 | 223.2 | |
| 26 | Green Bay Packers Seattle Seahawks Tennessee Titans Indianapolis Colts | 36,638 | 175.3 | |
| 27 | ^ | Buffalo Bills | 35,467 | 221.7 |
| 28 | Denver Broncos Chicago Bears Miami Dolphins | 35,133 | 229.6 | |
| 29 | Los Angeles Rams New Orleans Saints San Diego Chargers | 34,837 | 220.5 | |
| 30 | St. Louis Cardinals Washington Redskins | 34,665 | 172.5 | |
| 31 | San Francisco 49ers Denver Broncos Tampa Bay Buccaneers Kansas City Chiefs Miami Dolphins Atlanta Falcons | 34,241 | 166.2 | |
| 32 | Dallas Cowboys | 34,183 | 219.1 | |
| 33 | * | San Francisco 49ers Kansas City Chiefs Washington Redskins | 34,068 | 205.2 |
| 34 | San Diego Chargers Los Angeles Rams Green Bay Packers Houston Oilers | 33,503 | 149.6 | |
| 35 | New York Giants | 33,462 | 204.0 | |
| 36 | ^ | Tampa Bay Buccaneers San Francisco 49ers | 33,124 | 196.0 |
| 37 | ^ | Dallas Cowboys | 32,942 | 199.6 |
| 38 | * | St. Louis Rams Cincinnati Bengals Buffalo Bills Tennessee Titans Houston Texans New York Jets Tampa Bay Buccaneers Miami Dolphins | 32,886 | 210.8 |
| 39 | Cincinnati Bengals | 32,838 | 171.0 | |
| 40 | ^ | St. Louis Rams New York Giants Arizona Cardinals | 32,344 | 260.8 |
| 41 | ^ | Philadelphia Eagles Washington Redskins | 32,224 | 147.8 |
| 42 | Green Bay Packers Jacksonville Jaguars Washington Redskins New Orleans Saints New York Jets | 32,072 | 166.2 | |
| 43 | * | Cincinnati Bengals Dallas Cowboys | 31,594 | 237.5 |
| 44 | San Francisco 49ers | 31,548 | 157.0 | |
| 45 | Houston/Tennessee Oilers/Titans Baltimore Ravens | 31,304 | 194.4 | |
| 46 | Washington Redskins Philadelphia Eagles Minnesota Vikings New York Giants San Francisco 49ers | 30,797 | 173.0 | |
| 47 | Philadelphia Eagles Minnesota Vikings Dallas Cowboys Baltimore Ravens | 29,979 | 186.2 | |
| 48 | Buffalo Bills Detroit Lions Tampa Bay Buccaneers Indianapolis Colts | 29,817 | 160.3 | |
| 49 | Seattle Seahawks Cincinnati Bengals Detroit Lions Dallas Cowboys | 29,745 | 211.0 | |
| 50 | * | Seattle Seahawks | 29,734 | 232.3 |
- Note: Y. A. Tittle passed for 33,070 yards in his professional career. However, 4,731 of those yards came in the All-America Football Conference. The NFL does not recognise statistics and records accrued in the AAFC. As such, his career passing yards total in the NFL stands at 28,339.
Players with at least 3,000 postseason career passing yards
| Rank | Player | Team by season | |
| 1 | * | New England Patriots Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 11,388 |
| 2 | Indianapolis Colts Denver Broncos | 7,339 | |
| 3 | ^ | Atlanta Falcons Green Bay Packers New York Jets Minnesota Vikings | 5,855 |
| 4 | ^ | San Francisco 49ers Kansas City Chiefs | 5,772 |
| 5 | * | Pittsburgh Steelers | 5,256 |
| 6 | * | Green Bay Packers | 5,027 |
| 7 | * | San Diego Chargers New Orleans Saints | 4,967 |
| 8 | ^ | Denver Broncos | 4,964 |
| 9 | ^ | Miami Dolphins | 4,510 |
| 10 | ^ | St. Louis Rams New York Giants Arizona Cardinals | 3,952 |
| 11 | ^ | Buffalo Bills | 3,863 |
| 12 | ^ | Dallas Cowboys | 3,849 |
| 13 | ^ | Pittsburgh Steelers | 3,833 |
| 14 | Philadelphia Eagles Washington Redskins Minnesota Vikings | 3,752 | |
| 15 | * | Seattle Seahawks | 3,612 |
| 16 | ^ | Tampa Bay Buccaneers San Francisco 49ers | 3,326 |
| 17 | * | Baltimore Ravens Denver Broncos New York Jets | 3,223 |
Players with the most career passing yards including playoff games
Active players are in bold; minimum 60K yards.Historical passing yards leaders
Ten players are recognised as having held the record as the NFL's career passing yardage leader. The longest record holder was Fran Tarkenton who held the record for 19 years.| Player | Team while leader | Career passing yards | Season | |
| – | Arnie Herber^ | Green Bay Packers | 639 | 1932 |
| – | Arnie Herber^ | Green Bay Packers | 1,295 | 1933 |
| – | Arnie Herber^ | Green Bay Packers | 2,094 | 1934 |
| – | Arnie Herber^ | Green Bay Packers | 2,823 | 1935 |
| – | Arnie Herber^ | Green Bay Packers | 4,062 | 1936 |
| – | Arnie Herber^ | Green Bay Packers | 4,746 | 1937 |
| – | Arnie Herber^ | Green Bay Packers | 5,082 | 1938 |
| – | Arnie Herber^ | Green Bay Packers | 6,189 | 1939 |
| – | Arnie Herber^ | Green Bay Packers | 6,749 | 1940-1942 |
| – | Sammy Baugh^ | Washington Redskins | 8,379 | 1943 |
| – | Sammy Baugh^ | Washington Redskins | 9,228 | 1944 |
| – | Sammy Baugh^ | Washington Redskins | 10,897 | 1945 |
| – | Sammy Baugh^ | Washington Redskins | 12,060 | 1946 |
| – | Sammy Baugh^ | Washington Redskins | 14,998 | 1947 |
| – | Sammy Baugh^ | Washington Redskins | 17,597 | 1948 |
| – | Sammy Baugh^ | Washington Redskins | 19,500 | 1949 |
| – | Sammy Baugh^ | Washington Redskins | 20,630 | 1950 |
| – | Sammy Baugh^ | Washington Redskins | 21,734 | 1951 |
| – | Sammy Baugh^ | Washington Redskins | 21,886 | 1952-1958 |
| – | Bobby Layne^ | Pittsburgh Steelers | 22,063 | 1959 |
| – | Bobby Layne^ | Pittsburgh Steelers | 23,877 | 1960 |
| – | Bobby Layne^ | Pittsburgh Steelers | 25,082 | 1961 |
| – | Bobby Layne^ | Pittsburgh Steelers | 26,768 | 1962-1963 |
| – | Y. A. Tittle^ | New York Giants | 28,339 | 1964-1967 |
| – | Johnny Unitas^ | Baltimore Colts San Diego Chargers | 33,160 | 1968 |
| – | Johnny Unitas^ | Baltimore Colts San Diego Chargers | 35,502 | 1969 |
| – | Johnny Unitas^ | Baltimore Colts San Diego Chargers | 37,715 | 1970 |
| – | Johnny Unitas^ | Baltimore Colts San Diego Chargers | 38,657 | 1971 |
| – | Johnny Unitas^ | Baltimore Colts San Diego Chargers | 39,768 | 1972 |
| – | Johnny Unitas^ | Baltimore Colts San Diego Chargers | 40,239 | 1973-1975 |
| – | Fran Tarkenton^ | Minnesota Vikings | 41,801 | 1976 |
| – | Fran Tarkenton^ | Minnesota Vikings | 43,535 | 1977 |
| – | Fran Tarkenton^ | Minnesota Vikings | 47,003 | 1978-1994 |
| – | Dan Marino^ | Miami Dolphins | 48,841 | 1995 |
| – | Dan Marino^ | Miami Dolphins | 51,636 | 1996 |
| – | Dan Marino^ | Miami Dolphins | 55,416 | 1997 |
| – | Dan Marino^ | Miami Dolphins | 58,913 | 1998 |
| – | Dan Marino^ | Miami Dolphins | 61,361 | 1999-2006 |
| – | Brett Favre^ | Green Bay Packers New York Jets Minnesota Vikings | 61,655 | 2007 |
| – | Brett Favre^ | Green Bay Packers New York Jets Minnesota Vikings | 65,127 | 2008 |
| – | Brett Favre^ | Green Bay Packers New York Jets Minnesota Vikings | 69,329 | 2009 |
| – | Brett Favre^ | Green Bay Packers New York Jets Minnesota Vikings | 71,838 | 2010-2014 |
| - | | Denver Broncos | 71,940 | 2015-2017 |
| Since | New Orleans Saints | 74,437 | 2018 | |
| Since | New Orleans Saints | 77,416 | 2019 |