Highest Passer Rating in NFL History: Game, Season & Career
See the highest NFL passer ratings for a game, season and career, including the 158.3 maximum, qualified leaderboards and era context.
The highest possible NFL passer rating in a game is 158.3. The qualified single-season record is 122.5, set by Aaron Rodgers in 2011. At the start of the 2026 season, Lamar Jackson and Aaron Rodgers share the qualified career lead at 102.2.
Those are three different records. A perfect game measures one performance, a season record requires enough attempts to qualify for the annual leaderboard, and a career record summarizes thousands of plays. This guide separates the categories so that “highest passer rating” is not reduced to one misleading number.
Highest NFL passer ratings at a glance
- Highest possible game rating: 158.3
- Highest qualified season: Aaron Rodgers, 122.5 in 2011
- Highest qualified career rating entering 2026: Lamar Jackson and Aaron Rodgers, 102.2
What is the highest passer rating possible?
The maximum NFL passer rating is 158.3. It is commonly called a perfect passer rating because all four formula components have reached their maximum value of 2.375.
The passing line must satisfy all four conditions:
| Formula attribute | Requirement for the maximum component |
|---|---|
| Completion percentage | At least 77.5% |
| Yards per attempt | At least 12.5 |
| Touchdown percentage | At least 11.875% |
| Interception percentage | 0% |
A quarterback does not need to complete every pass. “Perfect” describes the result of the formula, not a performance without an incompletion, sack or other negative play. See the passer rating scale for the full 158.3 explanation.
Highest single-season passer ratings
Aaron Rodgers owns the qualified single-season NFL record with a 122.5 passer rating for Green Bay in 2011. His 2020 rating of 121.5 ranks second, while Peyton Manning’s 121.1 in 2004 ranks third.
The current qualified top 10 through the 2025 regular season is:
| Rank | Quarterback | Team | Season | Passer rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aaron Rodgers | Green Bay Packers | 2011 | 122.5 |
| 2 | Aaron Rodgers | Green Bay Packers | 2020 | 121.5 |
| 3 | Peyton Manning | Indianapolis Colts | 2004 | 121.1 |
| 4 | Lamar Jackson | Baltimore Ravens | 2024 | 119.6 |
| 5 | Nick Foles | Philadelphia Eagles | 2013 | 119.2 |
| 6 | Ryan Tannehill | Tennessee Titans | 2019 | 117.5 |
| 7 | Tom Brady | New England Patriots | 2007 | 117.2 |
| 8 | Matt Ryan | Atlanta Falcons | 2016 | 117.1 |
| 9 | Drew Brees | New Orleans Saints | 2019 | 116.3 |
| 10 | Drew Brees | New Orleans Saints | 2018 | 115.7 |
These are qualified seasons, not isolated appearances. Leaderboards use minimum participation requirements so that a quarterback cannot lead the league after one unusually efficient pass or a very small sample.
Why is the season record lower than 158.3?
A season rating combines every qualifying pass attempt before applying the formula. It is not the arithmetic average of each game’s passer rating.
To maintain 158.3 across a season, a quarterback would need to keep all four components at their caps across hundreds of attempts: at least 77.5% completions, at least 12.5 yards per attempt, touchdowns on at least 11.875% of attempts and no interceptions. No qualified NFL season has met all four requirements.
That gap is why a 120-plus season is historically exceptional even though 158.3 is possible in one game.
Highest career passer ratings entering 2026
Career rankings change as active players add attempts. At the start of the 2026 season, the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s qualified leaderboard lists:
| Rank | Quarterback | Career passer rating |
|---|---|---|
| 1T | Lamar Jackson | 102.2 |
| 1T | Aaron Rodgers | 102.2 |
| 3 | Joe Burrow | 101.1 |
| 4 | Patrick Mahomes | 100.8 |
| 5 | Russell Wilson | 99.3 |
| 6 | Deshaun Watson | 98.8 |
| 7 | Drew Brees | 98.7 |
| 8 | Dak Prescott | 98.3 |
| 9 | Jimmy Garoppolo | 97.6 |
| 10 | Tom Brady | 97.2 |
Active-player rankings can move during the season because every completion, yard, touchdown, interception and attempt changes the combined career calculation. The source date therefore matters as much as the displayed number.
Game, season and career records are not interchangeable
| Record type | What it answers | Main limitation |
|---|---|---|
| Perfect game | Did all four components reach their caps in one game? | Small sample and no measurement of rushing, sacks or game context |
| Qualified season | Who sustained the greatest passing efficiency across one season? | Offensive environments differ between eras |
| Qualified career | Who sustained efficiency over a long career? | Active rankings move, and career totals combine different stages and eras |
A 158.3 game is mathematically perfect under the formula. It is not automatically the greatest quarterback performance ever. The formula does not consider pass-attempt volume, rushing, sacks, fumbles, down and distance, opponent strength or win probability.
Why modern quarterbacks dominate raw passer-rating lists
Passer rating uses the same four basic attributes across eras, but the environment producing those attributes has changed. Modern offenses generally complete a higher percentage of passes, throw fewer interceptions and use more efficient passing concepts than early professional offenses.
This makes a raw rating useful for answering “Who produced the highest score?” but less complete for answering “Who was furthest above his era?” For historical comparisons, examine the league average and qualification rules for the same season alongside the raw rating.
What creates an all-time passer-rating season?
Every record season combines the same entity–attribute relationships used by the NFL formula:
- Accuracy: completions relative to attempts
- Production: passing yards relative to attempts
- Scoring efficiency: touchdown passes relative to attempts
- Ball security: interceptions relative to attempts
High volume alone does not guarantee a high rating. A quarterback must produce yards and touchdowns efficiently while protecting the ball. Use the NFL passer rating formula to inspect the four capped components or enter any historical stat line in the passer rating calculator.
Is the highest passer rating the same as the best quarterback performance?
No. Passer rating measures passing efficiency from five box-score inputs. It does not measure total offensive value.
A quarterback can add decisive rushing value, avoid sacks or convert difficult situations without improving passer rating. Another passer can receive substantial yards after the catch or compile efficient production in low-leverage situations. For a broader evaluation, compare passer rating with Total QBR, ANY/A, EPA, rushing production and play context.
Methodology and sources
This page was checked on July 22, 2026, after completion of the 2025 NFL season. Single-season values use the current Pro Football Reference passer-rating leaderboard. Career values use the Pro Football Hall of Fame top-20 passer-rating table, labeled for the start of the 2026 season.
The rankings include each source’s qualification rules. They should not be compared with unqualified one-pass or small-sample results.
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about passer rating and how to calculate it.
What is the highest passer rating in NFL history?
The maximum NFL passer rating for a game is 158.3. For a qualified season, Aaron Rodgers holds the record with a 122.5 rating in 2011.
Who has the best single-season passer rating?
Aaron Rodgers recorded a 122.5 passer rating for the Green Bay Packers in 2011, the highest qualified single-season mark in NFL history.
Who has the highest career passer rating?
At the start of the 2026 season, Lamar Jackson and Aaron Rodgers share the qualified career lead at 102.2. Active-player rankings can change during a season.
Has anyone had a 158.3 passer rating for a season?
No qualified NFL season has finished at 158.3. Maintaining the maximum would require all four formula components to remain capped across the entire season.
Can an NFL passer rating exceed 158.3?
No. Each NFL formula component is capped at 2.375, making 158.3 the maximum. NCAA passing efficiency uses a different uncapped formula.
Does a perfect passer rating require every pass to be completed?
No. The completion component reaches its maximum at 77.5%, so a quarterback can throw incompletions and still earn a 158.3 rating.
Is the highest passer rating always the best quarterback game?
No. Passer rating excludes rushing, sacks, fumbles, opponent strength and game situation. It measures passing efficiency rather than total quarterback value.
Why do modern quarterbacks rank highly in passer rating?
Modern passing environments generally produce higher completion rates and fewer interceptions. Cross-era comparisons should consider the league average and offensive context from each season.