The Greatest Football Players of All-Time

The Overflow

*Does not include active players

Troy AikmanDon MaynardKevin MawaeV. Johnson
Ken AndersonT. McDonaldJon MorrisWillie Lanier
Terry BradshawArt MonkTom NalenGreg Lloyd
Len DawsonHerman MooreBart OatesW. Marshall
Boomer EsiasonStanley MorganJim OttoC. Matthews Jr.
Dan FoutsDrew PearsonM. PounceyC. Matthews Sr.
Roman GabrielAndre ReedJim RingoK. Mecklenberg
Bob GrieseSterling SharpeJeff SaturdaySam Mills
S. JurgensenDel ShofnerD. StephensonH. Nickerson
Jim KellyJimmy SmithMark StepnoskiRay Nitschke
D. LamonicaSteve SmithMick TingelhoffTommy Norbis
Bobby LayneJohn StallworthGeno AtkinsKen Norton Jr.
Sid LuckmanLynn SwannB. BaumhowerJohn Offerdahl
Eli ManningCharley TaylorRoger BrownBryce Paup
D. McNabbLionel TaylorBuck BuchananJulian Peterson
Warren MoonPaul WarfieldMichael CarterJoey Porter
Joe NamathReggie WayneRay ChildressIsiah Robertson
Cam NewtonHines WardFletcher CoxDave Robinson
Phillip RiversWes WelkerCurley CulpAndy Russell
B.RoethlisbergerDave CasperArt DonovanJoe Schmidt
Matt RyanT. ChristensenLa’Roi GloverChris Spielman
Kenny StablerMike DitkaCasey HamptonMike Stratton
Bart StarrAntonio GatesGary JohnsonTerrell Suggs
Roger StaubachJimmy GrahamHenry JordanPat Swilling
Fran TarkentonKeith JacksonAlex KarrasD. Thomas
Joe TheismanJohn MackeyCortez KennedyZach Thomas
YA TittleOzzie NewsomeJoe KleckoAndre Tippett
N. Van BrocklinJay NovacekGerald McCoyJ. Trotter
Kurt WarnerCharlie SandersS. McMichaelJesse Tuggle
S. AlexanderS. SharpeC. McGlocktonDave Wilcox
Marcus AllenKellen WinslowKeith MillardPatrick Willis
Ottis AndersonJason WittenHaloti NgataAl Wilson
Tiki BarberW. AndersonLeo NomelliniHerb Adderley
Le’Veon BellTony BoselliM. Dean PerryEric Allen
Jerome BettisBob BrownTrevor PryceRonde Barber
Jamal CharlesDuane BrownFred SmerlasErich Barnes
Dutch ClarkLomas BrownErnie StautnerLem Barney
Roger CraigR. BrownNdamukong SuhBobby Boyd
Larry CsonkaWinston HillTed WashingtonWillie Brown
Terrell DavisChris HintonVince WilforkDeron Cherry
Tony DorsettCal HubbardKevin WilliamsA. Cromartie
Chuck ForemanJoe JacobyKyle WilliamsCornell Green
Eddie GeorgeMike KennBryant YoungDarrell Green
Frank GiffordGeorge KunzJohn AbrahamS. Gilmore
Cookie GilchristJim LacheyJared AllenChris Harris
Frank GoreMatt LightDoug AtkinsLester Hayes
Red GrangeJake LongElvin BetheaJimmy Johnson
Ahman GreenOrlando PaceCalais CampbellTy Law
Franco HarrisJason PetersWillie DavisAlbert Lewis
Priest HolmesMarvin PowellRichard DentSam Madison
Paul HornungDick SchafrathChris DolemanLemar Parrish
Edgerrin JamesArt ShellElvis DumervilP. Peterson
Chris JohnsonJackie SlaterCarl EllerRichie Petitbon
M. Jones-DrewJoe StaleyLen FordMel Renfro
Leroy KellyJim TyrerDwight FreeneyAsante Samuel
Jamal LewisBob VogelMarc GastineauR. Sherman
M. LynchR. WebbL.C. GreenwoodAqib Talib
Curtis MartinA. WhitworthCharles HaleyE. Thomas
LeSean McCoyErik WilliamsTamba HaliTroy Vincent
H. McElhennyRayfield WrightDan HamptonEverson Walls
Lenny MooreRon YaryBill HewittRoger Werhli
Marion MotleyG. ZimmermanC. HeywardA. Williams
B. NagurskiRuben BrownC. HumphreyLouis Wright
Ernie NeversDavid DeCastro“Too Tall” JonesDick Anderson
Joe PerryJ.DeLamielleureC. JordanSteve Atwater
John RigginsDan DierdorfHowie LongJoey Browner
Gale SayersJahri EvansHarvey MartinLeRoy Butler
Darren SprolesDan FortmannRobert MathisJ. Christiansen
T. ThomasGale GillinghamJerry MaysKenny Easley
Jim TaylorKen GrayLeslie O’NealDave Grayson
Steve Van BurenRuss GrimmAndy RobustelliMerton Hanks
Jim ThorpeGene HickersonSimeon RiceCliff Harris
Ricky WattersS. HutchinsonLee Roy SelmanR. Harrison
Lance AlworthJerry KramerR. SeymourPaul Krause
Fred BiletnikofB. KuechenbergJustin SmithCarnell Lake
Raymond BerryLarry LittleNeil SmithJohn Lynch
Anquan BoldinTom MackJessie ArmsteadT. Mathieu
Cliff BranchLogan MankinsBobby BellTim McDonald
Antonio BrownMike MunchakMatt BlairEddie Meador
Tim BrownNate NewtonMaxie BaughanLawyer Milloy
Isaac BruceJohn NilandChuck BednarikJimmy Patton
H. CarmichaelBilly ShawC.BennettJohnny Robinson
Cris CarterChris SneeN. BowmanGeorge Saimes
Mark ClaytonWalt SweeneyRobert BrazileJake Scott
Henry EllardBob TalaminiLance BriggsD. Sharper
AJ GreenGene UpshawKeith BrookingDonnie Shell
C. HenniganBrian WatersNick BuonicontiDennis Smith
Devin HesterS. WisniewskiHarry CarsonHarrison Smith
Elroy HirschMarshal YandaMike CurtisJack Tatum
Torry HoltMatt BirkL. FletcherEarl Thomas
Don HutsonBob DeMarcoJoe FortunatoEmlen Tunnell
Michael IrvinD. DawsonBill GeorgeEric Weddle
Harold JacksonMel HeinR. GradisharAdrian Wilson
Andre JohnsonJay HilgenbergL. GranthamWillie Wood
Calvin JohnsonKent HullChris HanburgerDarren Woodson
Chad JohnsonRyan KalilJames HarrisonA. Viniatieri
Charlie JoinerJason KelceJustin HoustonShane Lechler
Julio JonesOlin KreutzChuck HowleyRay Guy
Steve LargentJim LangerRickey Jackson
James LoftonAlex MackLee Roy Jordan
B. MarshallNick MangoldD. Johnson

2 thoughts on “The Greatest Football Players of All-Time

  1. Where’s Revis? He completely shut down Megatron Terrell Owen’s Randy moss Steve smith Andre Johnson and other top receivers with ZERO SAFETY HELP,,,,, he’s by far the best cover cornerback ever to be in the NFL

    1. Hey JD,

      This is the honorable mention list. Revis is #63 on the top-100. Here’s the link:

      https://www.the100greatest.com/2025/01/01/the-100-greatest-football-players-of-all-time/

      The ACL injury in 2012 was devastating in terms of where he ranks on the all time list. He had just put down three consecutive 1st Team All-Pro seasons and looked every bit like a GOAT candidate at cornerback. While he was able to add another 1st Team All-Pro season in 2014 and a SB with New England, his peak lasted just 6-7 seasons, which limits his ceiling on the all-time list. If we were making a “peak only” list, then he’d rank higher.

Leave a Reply

Hi (hopefully) awesome reader! I welcome your comments. However, please be aware that I make all of my arguments using facts, statistics, and logic. Unfortunately, the average comment on a top-100 list goes something like this:

"UR StooPid. (Insert player) is trash. I've watched (pick a sport) for (pick a number of years) and (pick a player) is better than everyone. UR DUMB. HAHA6969."

–Some Jabroni

As cognitively stimulating as this species of comment is, it ends up being a missed opportunity to share a nuanced perspective. I reply to all comments that show even the most basic levels of thought and humility. The people who make the comments like the example above are under the assumption that the three seconds of thought that popped into their brains after reading the list is more than the 1000s of hours that I put into creating and maintaining the lists. I would be happy to defend any placement, or make an adjustment if one is warranted. If you are a jabroni, like the one above, then your comment will die in the lonely void of the unpublished comments section.

For everyone else, I look forward to your comments!

P.S. A theme of this site and the top-100 lists is that athletes from previous generations have historically been grossly overrated by sports publications in a way that is statistically improbable. Click on the "About" dropdown menu to see just how badly the average top-100 list disproportionately favors athletes from older generations when leagues were smaller, race quotas existed, and globalization wasn't a thing. Also, please consider reading "The History" section of the sport you are commenting on.

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