Top 10 quarterbacks sacked most number of times in NFL history ft. Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers and more

The National Football League is one of the biggest sporting leagues in the world as of now, both in terms of viewership and revenues earned. The NFL has a rich history of over a century, during which many famous players graced the gridiron to take the sport forward to where it is today.

Such is the nature of the NFL that a particular player or a position is fundamental to a team’s overall performance. You’ve guessed it right. It is a team’s quarterback, who is also regarded as the leader of the team’s offense, and holds the key to success.

While it is a quarterback’s responsibility to make accurate passes and take on the onus upon himself to take the game forward, the opposition defense makes it all the harder for him to make such passes. In doing so, one of the best things to stop a quarterback is by sacking him.

Sacks are tackles that prevent the quarterback from passing the line of scrimmage or force them to take the football out within that line due to defensive pressure. No wonder avoidance of sacks is another drill quarterback works on with the coaching staff.

In this article, we take a look into the 10 most sacked quarterbacks’ all-time record and there are some pretty big QBs in question there.

#10. Matthew Stafford (481 sacks)

Matthew Stafford comes in at the 10th position with a total of 481 sacks on record (as of week 2 of the 2024 season). The 2009 first overall pick by the Detroit Lions, played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs. Ranking among the top 12 in NFL history for pass attempts, completions, yards, and touchdowns, he’s also the fastest to reach 40,000 passing yards. Stafford’s breakout came in 2011, throwing for over 5,000 yards and leading Detroit to their first playoff berth since 1999.

He guided the Lions to two more playoff appearances in 2014 and 2016, earning Pro Bowl honors and setting a record for comeback wins. In 2021, after parting ways with Detroit, Stafford was traded to the Rams and led them to victory in Super Bowl LVI.

#9. Randall Cunningham (484 sacks)

Randall Cunningham appears as the ninth-most sacks in the list of the most sacked quarterbacks with 484 sacks. Cunningham played most of his football for the Philadelphia Eagles, becoming a franchise legend.

Before announcing his retirement in 1995, Cunningham had 6.62 yards per rush attempted, an Eagles record that still holds. He made a dashing return to the NFL in 1996, after which he played for the Vikings, Cowboys, and Ravens to eventually close out his footballing career in 2001.

#8. Matt Ryan (488 sacks)

The second active player on the list of quarterbacks who have been sacked ‘bunch of times’ is Matt Ryan, with a total of 488 sacks. The former Atlanta Falcons player started his journey in the NFL in 2008 and bid adieu to the franchise in his 14th season, eventually moving onto the Indianapolis Colts in 2022.

So far, the former first-round draft picks member hasn’t tasted Super Bowl success in his career but reached the pinnacle in 2016 when he won the NFL MVP award while also taking the Falcons to a Super Bowl.

#7. Dave Krieg (494 sacks)

Dave Krieg is positioned at seventh with a total of 494 sacks in his entire NFL career. Krieg spent the majority of his 19 seasons with the Seattle Seahawks and is among those players who made a name for themselves after going undrafted in the NFL draft.

He was nominated thrice for the Pro Bowl, all of which came during his spell with the Seahawks. Krieg also had brief spells with the Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions, Arizona Cardinals, Chicago Bears, and the then Tennessee Oilers.

#6. John Elway (516 sacks)

John Elway is one of the best quarterbacks the NFL has ever seen, but even then he finds himself on this list with a total of 516 sacks. During his 16-year playing career from 1983 to 1998, he won two Super Bowl trophies in his final two seasons, to get a fairytale ending to an exceptional career.

Elway is a Denver Broncos man through and throughout after he was traded to the franchise in 1983 after his NFL draft by the Baltimore Ravens. He continues to serve the Broncos off the gridiron even now, as a consultant. Elway served as the general manager for the Broncos from 2011 to 2020, during which he oversaw their third Super Bowl victory in 2015. The fact that he’s on this list of most sacked players is simply due to his longevity in the NFL.

#5. Brett Favre (525 sacks)

Brett Favre is a household name in the NFL and comes in at the fifth position on the list of the most sacked quarterbacks of all time, with 525 sacks. The former Green Bay Packers quarterback revolutionized the position, winning three consecutive NFL MVP awards in 1995, 96 and 97.

A Hall of Fame member since 2016, Favre won the Super Bowl XXXI title and held numerous records in passing yards, passing touchdowns, and quarterback wins when he retired. Recently, the quarterback has found himself mired in controversy due to a Mississippi welfare funds scandal.

#4. Russell Wilson (527 sacks)

Russell Wilson is one of the modern-day quarterback greats, but even he finds his name on this list, with a total of 527 sacks (as of week 2 of the 2024 season). Wilson started his NFL career in 2012 after being drafted by the Seattle Seahawks. He went on to spend 10 seasons with them, wherein he led the franchise to their maiden and only league championship in the XLVIII edition of 2013.

Wilson moved on from the Seahawks in one of the most talked about trades of recent times to the Denver Broncos in 2022 and has had to endure a tough start at the franchise. The 2024 off-season saw him joining Mike Tomlin’s Pittsburgh Steelers.

#3. Aaron Rodgers (534 sacks)

Aaron Rodgers is yet another Green Bay Packers legend, who makes an entry into the coveted list with 530 sacks. Rodgers has won the NFL MVP for a whopping four times during his career, most recently in 2022. He led the Packers to a Super Bowl title in 2010, in which happened to be his third season as the starting quarterback for the franchise.

Rodgers took over the role from Brett Favre and has established himself as one of the leading quarterbacks in the NFL over the past decade. Currently, Rodgers is in his second year as the New York Jets’ starting QB.

#2. Ben Roethlisberger (554 sacks)

Pittsburgh Steelers legend, Ben Roethlisberger took over this record from Brett Favre in 2021 itself and finished with 554 sacks in his career, which spanned through 18 seasons. He started his NFL journey in 2004, after being drafted by the Steelers in the first round. Roethlisberger won the Super Bowl twice, first in 2005, in which he became the youngest quarterback to win the Super Bowl, and again in 2008, but failed to win it for a third time in 2010.

#1. Tom Brady (565 sacks)

No prizes for guessing, the player with the highest sacks in NFL history is Tom Brady. Arguably, the best player to ever grace the gridiron, Brady broke a long-time record, taking it off the hands of Ben Roethlisberger, when he was sacked against the Baltimore Ravens during the regular season game in 2022.

Eventually, he finished with 565 sacks before calling time on his playing career. With seven Super Bowl titles to his name, Brady is the most successful player, but if there’s one record he would want off his books, it has to be this one. However, the record is simply a testament to the fact that he played for 23 seasons in one of the most competitive sporting leagues in the world.