- Tom Brady
Brady unequivocally remains in the #1 spot as of now despite Patrick Mahomes being on his tail. With 7 rings with two franchises which is more championships than any other NFL franchise has, he remains at #1. In terms of individual greatness his 3 MVPs ranks up there with almost any player ever and he is the all-time leader in both passing touchdowns and passing yards. Surpassing him at #1 will be a tall task for any quarterback to reach.
- Joe Montana
Montana was Brady before Brady won his 4th/5th Super Bowl. Both tall statuesque pocket passers who are deadly accurate and have football acumen that ranks up there with anyone ever who were known for clutch performances. Many have Montana lower than this because many correlate his success to head coach Bill Walsh who won a Super Bowl without Montana. But with 4 Super Bowls and 2 regular season MVPs, Montana is no lower than #2 on this list.
- Patrick Mahomes
With 2 regular season MVPs and 3 Super Bowl wins, Mahomes is a top 3 quarterback of all time with still more than half of his career remaining. Mahomes will likely climb higher than this if he keeps it up and one could certainly argue he should be higher than this as of now. But Montana has just as many regular season MVPs and more Super Bowl wins than Mahomes as of now.
- Peyton Manning
If you look at the surface facts Manning deserves to be no lower than #4 but cannot be ranked higher even though at face value one could certainly make a strong argument, he should be higher than this. Manning is the most individually decorated quarterback ever with 5 MVPs and is one of only two quarterbacks ever who have won a Super Bowl with multiple franchises. However, his repeated failures in the postseason along with him playing a very limited role in his second Super Bowl win keep him at 4 not higher.
- Aaron Rodgers
Rodgers is perhaps the most individually gifted quarterback this game has ever seen possessing the second most regular season MVPs in NFL history to Peyton Manning, with Rodgers having 4 while Manning has 5. Rodgers played the position at perhaps the highest level we have ever seen it be played while possessing a Super Bowl win. The biggest thing that kept Rodgers at 5 one spot below Peyton was the presence of Manning’s second Super Bowl win. Perhaps if Rodgers can win another one at the tail end of his career, he can climb higher than this.
- Brett Favre
Favre in terms of individual talent ranks up there with any player ever having won three straight MVPs in the mid-90s which is still an accomplishment that is unparalleled in NFL history. Favre possessing a Super Bowl win to go along with-it lands Favre in the top 6 all time. Favre remains below Rodgers primarily because Rodgers has one more MVP, the same amount of Super Bowls, and mostly everyone including myself says Rodgers played the position at a higher level making far fewer mistakes than Favre did. As all the interceptions Favre threw often put a dent in his legacy whereas Rodgers was the opposite, throwing interceptions at a lesser rate than maybe any historically great quarterback.
- Drew Brees
Brees find himself in the top 7 quarterbacks of all time being perhaps the most precise accurate thrower of the football in NFL history. When Brees retired he held the record for most passing yards ever, most passing touchdowns ever, most seasons leading the league in passing yards, highest completion percentage ever in a season, most completions in a season, and most seasons with 5,000+ passing yards. Since his retirement Brady has surpassed him in both most all-time passing yards and touchdowns but Brees still held those records at the time of his retirement. Many of those records were in large part due to inflated passing numbers in the modern era but Brees taking those records was still indeed remarkable. Despite all that Brees never won a regular season MVP but has won a Super Bowl. Brees remains lower than Rodgers and Favre because both those players have 3 or more MVPs with Brees having none while both Rodgers and Favre have the same amount of Super Bowl wins as well.
- John Elway
Elway is one of the most individually gifted quarterbacks the game has ever seen with multiple Super Bowl triumphs as well. Elway is like Brady, Montana, Mahomes, and Manning in that regard. There is no asterisk on Elway as a quarterback like there is for other all-time great quarterbacks as well. Like there is for Manning consistently underperforming come playoff time, like there is for Favre throwing interceptions, and like there is for Rodgers having a poor attitude and being a poor leader to many. Elway possessing individual talent up there with anyone ever while having multiple Super Bowl triumphs and having no glaring weakness as a player has him in the top 8 all time. Elway could certainly rank higher than this if he had received more help in his career.
- Dan Marino
Marino before the emergence of Rodgers played the QB position at the highest level it’s ever been played at. His 1984 MVP season is considered maybe the greatest season a quarterback or a player in the NFL has ever had. He threw 48 touchdowns while the next closest player was only at 32 touchdowns. Marino relative to his peers separated from the pack in terms of individual quarterback play at maybe a greater level than anyone ever. Marino never won a Super Bowl but is still amongst the top 10 quarterbacks ever showing his elite next level talent which relative to his peers may never be duplicated. Although many quarterbacks in a vacuum are on his level, we may never see another quarterback be that far removed from his peers in terms of individual prowess like Marino was.
- Terry Bradshaw
Bradshaw is only one of three quarterbacks ever along with Montana and Brady to have won a regular season MVP with 4 Super Bowl triumphs as well. He is also only one of three quarterbacks ever with 4 Super Bowl victories in totality alongside Montana and Brady as well. Bradshaw was never a generational talent but still has won a league MVP with as many Super Bowl wins as any player ever outside of Tom Brady.
Honorable Mentions
Troy Aikman – Aikman is one of only five quarterbacks ever with 3 or more Super Bowl wins. He was also able to accomplish that feat with multiple head coaches as well, firstly Jimmie Johnson and then Barry Switzer. Aikman was never a generational talent but still a six-time pro bowler who is amongst the most accurate QBs ever. In terms of individual prowess, he was not in the same class as players 1-9 on this list and is in a similar boat to Terry Bradshaw, a very talented quarterback whose accomplishments in terms of winning are in an elite group with only a handful of other players. I put Bradshaw ahead of him at 10 because Bradshaw has one more Super Bowl win with 4 to Aikman’s 3 and Bradshaw has won league MVP as well whereas Aikman has never won league MVP. One could certainly make a strong argument that Aikman could be ahead of him because Aikman won Super Bowls with multiple head coaches and the Cowboys teams that won three Super Bowls with Aikman at QB were more of an offensive story than a defensive one. Whereas Bradshaw never won a Super Bowl without head coach Chuck Noll and the Steelers teams who won Super Bowls with Bradshaw at QB were mostly defensive teams and stories as opposed to offensive ones.
Roger Staubach – Staubauch along with a few others are only one of a handful of quarterbacks ever with multiple Super Bowl wins while being in the definitive discussion amongst the most talented and individually great quarterbacks of his generation. But Staubach failed to ever capture league MVP honors and just missed out on the top 10 as a result.
Steve Young – Steve Young is on a short list of NFL quarterbacks with multiple league MVPs and a Super Bowl triumph. Because he had to sit behind Joe Montana, he was not able to have a more illustrious career and could certainly be in the top 10 if he started more games.
Kurt Warner – Warner along with Steve Young is also on the short list of quarterbacks who have won multiple league MVPs and a Super Bowl. Warner if he had won the Super Bowl with Arizona where the Cardinals came up just short to the Steelers could have certainly cracked the top 10.
