The 25 Greatest Quarterbacks of All Time

The first step in coming up with this list was putting together a list of quarterbacks that were even good enough to be considered potential top 25 candidates. Ultimately I settled on 50 names (that I narrowed down from all sorts of greatest ever lists and the NFL record books). Now it was time to figure out who the best were.

To even compare the tangible differences between quarterbacks who played in different eras is hard enough (though not impossible). Modern quarterbacks not only play more games, but they've also benefited from numerous rule changes the NFL has instituted to open up scoring which has allowed for the wide open offenses and ridiculous passing numbers we see today. By the same token, the game has also grown incredibly more complex so just learning the X's and O's of the game is the hardest it's ever been. To make a comparison between quarterbacks who played in different eras, I decided the first thing I needed to do was to put their performances into context. The best way I found to do that was to 'normalize' everyone's statistics (I picked 2009's environment because it was the most recent year, but you could pick any year you like). It wasn't a perect solution, but it was a darn good one.

Now that everyone was on a level playing field it was time to begin the ranking. Some folks (including the author of the link provided in the text) have tried to develop complex mathematical equations to come up with these rankings, but because I'm no genius at math and because even the most complex mathematical formulas tend to overrate certain statistical categories, I decided to keep mine basic and simply ranked each quarterback on the list in more than 65 categories including most of the major passing and rushing categories, awards, and championships. However, wanting to keep personal bias to a minimum on this list I didn't rank any of the intangible things that I thought made a quarterback great at this point. I then averaged their rankings and the person with the lowest overall score was ranked highest on the list.

Now that I had a list to work with I (like everyone else) succumbed to personal bias and started to award things like toughness, leadership, and innovativess by adjusting the players' rankings slightly, but to ensure that my personal bias did not drastically alter the rankings of the original (tangible) list, no quarterback was placed more than 5 slots higher or lower on the final list as a result of my adjustments. This way a guy ranking #20 in statistics and championships etc. could never fall out of the top 25 or a guy ranked outside of the top 5 could make it to #1 on the final list no matter how tough or innovative I thought he was. Now my list of the 25 greatest quarterbacks of all time was complete and the results are revealed and narrated below. Please be sure to vote on the poll and/or post a comment after you've finished reading.

Often cited as the most overrated quarterback of all time, Broadway Joe did lead the league in passing three times and his 4,007 passing yards in 1967 would be the equivalent of more than 5,300 yards today (good enough for 4th all time on this list). Unfortunately, Namath spent the latter part of his career battling injuries and as a result his performance suffered. His career interception percentage, passer rating, and winning percentage are all worsts on this list and after backing up his 'guarantee' in Super Bowl III he only got his team to the playoffs once (a 6-13 loss to Kansas City) so it's easy to see why so many people feel his legacy has been oversold. Ultimately, Namath's #10 ranking in career passing yards, #18 ranking in career passing touchdowns, along with a victory in one of the most important games of all time were just enough to get Namath a spot on this list of the 25 greatest quarterbacks.

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Inducted into the Hall in 1968, Layne is still the best quarterback to ever wear Honlulu blue. Always up for a good time, Layne never hid the fact that he loved to party. However, it certainly didn't affect his play, with Layne at the helm the Lions' fortunes quickly turned as they became serious contenders every year. He won two NFL titles in '52 and '53 and fell just short of a three-peat in '54. He split time with Tobin Rote in '57 and was a member of that championship team, but after a late season leg injury sidelined him, Layne watched as Rote led the Lions to their 3rd title in 6 years. After being snubbed by managment, Layne was traded to Pittsburgh after game two in '58 and he was reunited with former coach Buddy Parker (who had left Detroit the previous year), but despite putting up 5 more solid seasons the two were never able to return to a championship game.

Even in his own time Layne was never considered an elite passer, but he still led the league twice in passing yards and upon his retirment held the NFL record for most career pass attempts, completions, passing yards, and touchdown passes. He was also one of the best running quarterbacks on this list ranking 8th on the list in career rushing yards and 7th in career rushing touchdowns (after normalization)...numbers well deserving of a #24 ranking on this list. Perhaps the greatest testament to his legacy is that since his departure for Pittsburgh in 1958, the Lions have only made the playoffs 9 times and have recorded only one playoff win.

The only quarterback to be enshrined in both the NFL and CFL Hall of Fame, The former leader in all time pro football passing yardage ranks #23 on this list. If we included his CFL stats he would very likely be a top 5 quarterback, but comparing the CFL to the NFL is sort of like comparing the Arena Football League to the NFL, the rules are too different and the league's overall talent level is...let's face it Canada...inferior, so for this list they weren't counted. Even throwing out his CFL stats though, Moon was still a great quarterback and, for now, remains the greatest African-American quarterback of all time. Using only his NFL stats, he's ranked 6th on this list in career passing yards and touchdowns. He's ranked 13th on this list in career rushing yards and 9th in rushing touchdowns. Also, he's one of only eight quarterbacks on the list to throw for more than 5,000+ yards and one of only two quarterbacks on the list to throw for 5,000+ yards in consecutive seasons (all after normalization). However, we've already established that stats alone don't make a quarterback great and the fact is that unlike everyone else on this list, outside of Canada, Moon never made it past the Divisional Playoffs. This certainly wasn't all his fault (Moon actually tended to perform respectfully well in the playoffs himself), but a complete lack of of championship appearances of any kind in 17 years as an NFL quarterback along with a 50.2% career winning percentage as a starter (23rd out of 25) for a guy who is second only to Brett Favre in career interceptions make a #23 ranking seem more than fair and a good fit for Mr. Moon.

So close, yet so far away, Kelly was only four games away from a spot in the Pantheon of great quarterbacks on this list. As disappointing as the four losses were, however, playing in four consecutive Super Bowl's is still an amazing feat. Five conference championship apperances isn't too shabby either, so there's no question Kelly belongs on this list...the question was where?

Compared to the way he absolutely slaughtered secondaries in the USFL, Kelly's numbers in the 'big leagues' seem like small potatoes.His single season best 33 touchdowns in 1991 was good enough for #8 on the list after adjusting for eras, but his personal best 101.2 passer rating was only ranked the 41st best single season performance on this list and his 3,884 passing yards was ranked a whopping 85th best (all after normalization). If I had decided to include his USFL stats, those numbers would have been significantly better, but I didn't (the USFL wasn't as bad as some folks make it out to be, but it still had more in common with the CFL than the NFL). Kelly was always consistant though and missed relatively few games due to injury, so his rankings in career touchdown percentage, passing yards per season and passing touchdowns per season all rank in the top 10.

Ultimately, no Super Bowl wins and a short career just didn't add up to a stat line impressive enough to place him alongside the upper echelon quarterbacks on this list, but a #22 ranking seems more than appropriate for a man who orchestrated one of the premiere offenses of the 90s and was only four games away from serious consideration at the top of anybody's greatest ever list.

The only thing funnier than Yelberton Abraham Tittle's name is the fact that in 17 years as a pro he never won a championship. Like Kelly, Tittle had the pieces around him and he was good enough to get his guys to the Championship on multiple occassions, but was never able to win the 'big one.' His best chance came in 1963, the year he threw what was then an NFL record 36 touchdown passes. Unfortunately, shortly after orchestrating an 83 yard touchdown drive in the first quarter of the championship game against Chicago, Tittle suffered a knee injury that threw him off his game and cost him his shot at ultimate football glory. Despite 17 years without a championship however his stats are more than worthy of a #21 ranking. His 36 touchdown passes in 1963 was a record that held for nearly twenty years until Marino threw 48 in 1984, after normalization, his ranking in career passing yards is 8th on this list, his ranking in career passing touchdowns is 13th on this list and his career passer rating is 12th on this list. The only thing keeping Tittle out of the top 20 (and quite possibly the top 15) are a few bad years in San Francisco and his inability to win a championship.

Despite struggling for playing time early on with the Browns and Steelers, Dawson proved to be great. Hall of Fame coach Hank Stram often boasted that Dawson was "the most accurate passer in pro football." Lenny never put up a ton of passing yards or touchdowns, but he was incredibly efficient. He led the AFL in completion percentage and passer rating six times and helped lead his team to three championships (2 Afl Championships, 1 Super Bowl) in his 19 year career. Honestly, anything outside of the top 15 seems to be a low ranking for Dawson, but his years on the bench early on and time spent sharing quarterbacking duties with Mike Livingston at the end of his career did horrible things to his averages. He only ranks 21st on this list in career passing yards and 17th in career passing touchdowns. His 2,156 yards per season (after normalization) is the worst on this list and only Bart Starr averaged fewer touchdown passes per season. Alas, for a six time AFL All-Star, one time Superbowl MVP with three championships under his belt and a claim to being one of the top 5 or 10 most efficient passers of all time, there's no question Dawson belongs in the top 20.

Despite sharing quarterbacking duties with another Hall of Fame quarterback, it didn't take long for 'The Dutchman' to make a name for himself. Splitting time with Bob Waterfield he won a championship with the Rams in only his second year in the league (1951). He would later go on to play in two more, losing his second one with the Rams in 1955 and winning one with the Eagles in 1960 (while hall of famer and #16 on our list Sonny Jurgensen was forced to sit on the bench). In 12 years he played in 9 Pro Bowls and was a First-team All Pro selection in 1960. Van Brocklin's numbers were never astounding compared to some of the other greats on this list, but when you consider that he spent his entire career in an era where the forward pass was still in its infancy, they're more than worthy of his #19 ranking on this list. His 39,938 career passing yards (after normalization) is 18th on this list despite only playing for 12 years and he also threw for the equivalent of 3,500+ yards in 7 of those 12 years. Also worth noting, he's the only quarterback to lead his team to a victory over a Vince Lomabardi coached Packers team in a championship game.

The best quarterback not in the Hall of Fame (and the only one on this list that may never make it), Anderson was the first West Coast Offense Quarterback ( a system that gave us Steve Young and Joe Montana as well as future hall of famer Brett Favre); amazingly however, in his case that fact often seems to somehow hurt him more than it helps him. Despite being snubbed by the Hall and countless others, Anderson's numbers are more than worthy of his #18 ranking. His one Superbowl appearance is one more than Warren Moon or Dan Fouts (who Anderson's Bengals beat to get to Superbowl XVI) and even in that loss he was only just beaten by an even better quarterback (Joe Montana). One championship appearance in 16 years keeps him out of the top 15 on this list. Still, his raw stats are better than several guys long since enshrined in 'The Hall,' his post season quarterback rating is second only to 'Joe Cool', and his record for completion percentage in a season, that stood for more than 20 years, was just beaten this year by Drew Brees. Whatever your feelings about his ranking on this list...he unquestionably belongs in the Hall of Fame.

In a statistics only debate Fouts definately belongs in the top 10, and possibly the top 5. Normalizing his stats to today's averages his 4,715 passing yards in '80 and 4,802 in '81 is equivalent to having back-to-back 5,000 yard seasons. He's ranked 4th on this list in career passing yards and 6th in passing yards per season making it hard to rank Fouts this low, but statistics alone don't make a quarterback great and, unfortunately, Fouts only played in two conference championships in his 15 year career and never made it to a Superbowl. A single Superbowl victory and I find it hard to believe that Fouts wouldn't be in the top 10 on any list, but without one he's #17 on mine, that still makes him the highest ranked quarterback on this list to never appear in a championship .

Vince Lombardi once said that Jurgensen was the best he'd ever seen. It's not hard to understand why when you look at Jurgensen stats from '61 to '70; he averaged 4,045 yards, 27 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions per season (after normalization) during that time and twice threw for what would today be the equivalent of 5,000+ yards. Also In his prime he led the league in passing yards a record 5 times (tied with Dan Marino) and led the league in passing touchdowns twice. Time spent as a back up early in his career, injuries at the end of his career, and the sad fact that despite a lengthy 18 year career his only NFL title came as a backup to Norm Van Brocklin in 1960 keep Jurgensen just outside of the top 15 on the list, but he's still one of the top two or three pure passers of all time.

Just cracking the top 15 on the list is Sid Luckman. Considering that he played at a time when the forward pass was generally viewed as a gimmick play, it's hard to accurately measure how great he truly was; he and Sammy Baugh practically invented the quarterback position in the 30s and 40s and did things with a football that must have seemed impossible at the time. Luckman's 2,194 passing yards and 28 touchdowns in '43 is the equivalent of more than 6,500 yards and 55 touchdowns by today's standards (hands down the best statistical season for a quarterback ever); however, he only threw about three-fourths as many passes as most of the guys on this list for his career (after normalization) so statistically speaking, by today's standards, he only had four or five great 'quarterbacking' seasons. Still, he helped the Bears win four championships and despite retiring 60 years ago this season the Bears are still trying to replace Luckman. He still holds the NFL record for touchdown pass percentage (7.9) and his 8.4 yards per pass attempt (actual stats) is second only to Otto Graham. Ultimately, his short career (although not uncommon for the time period) with only a handful of measurably spectacular statistical seasons wasn't enough to rank him ahead of some the other greats on this list, which is why I have him ranked at #15, but I could certainly see why someone might feel that was too low.

Probably the greatest game manager of all time, by all accounts he was the field leader of a Packers dynasty that won five championships in seven years during the 60s. He may be the most efficient passer ever and his 9-1 post season record is by far the best by a quarterback ever. Statistically, however, Starr is miles behind everyone on this list so he doesn't get the top 5 or 10 ranking that you may see him receiving on some lists. Intangibles and championships can only get you so far. Nevertheless, his legendary efficiency and on the field leadership along with a staggeringly great playoff record, 5 championships, an MVP award, and 2 Superbowl MVP awards are more than worthy of a #14 ranking.

The problem with Bradshaw was that he was largely inconsistant (sometimes great, sometimes not), but he played for one of the greatest dynasties in NFL history. Four Superbowl wins is enough for some folks to automatically consider him a top 5 quarterback, but while championships are important to consider in such debates, football is ultimately a team sport so he can't get all the credit and statistically there are too many quarterbacks on this list that performed significantly better to rank him in the top 10, though he was admittedly one of the better rushing quarterbacks on this list. He did lead the league in passing touchdowns on two occassions (one of them being during a championship run in 1978), won a league MVP and two Superbowl MVP awards, but he started off slow even losing his job at one point to Joe Gilliam and statistically he has more in common with a top 20 quarterback than a top 5 or 10 quarterback so I think #13 is more than fair for Mr. Bradshaw.

No offense, but anybody who says that Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback of all time is a moron. Even #12 on this list seems a little high at this stage in his career with one season on the bench and one out due to injury; however, 4 Superbowl appearances and 3 wins in a 7 year period during the era of free agency certainly seems to be enough to consider him for the top 10. Two Superbowl MVP awards, a 70%+ winning percentage as a starter, and one of the greatest single season perormances by any quarterback also doesn't hurt his resume, but statistically his career numbers just aren't there to rank him any higher than #12. He's last place on this list (after normalization) in career passing yards, 22nd out of 25 in career passing touchdowns,13th in passing yards per season, and 19th in career passer rating. Furthermore, even his record 50 touchdown passes in 2007 doesn't sound quite as impressive if we consider that after normalizing Sid Luckman's stats (28 in '43= 55 by today's standards), Brady's performance only ranks second in NFL history. Nevertheless, taken as a whole Brady seems to be a good fit at #12 with the expectation that he's likely to move further up this list before his career is over.

Falling just outside the top 10 is Roger Staubach. The only knock on Roger is just that he didn't play long enough. He won two Superbowls and played in 2 more during his 11 years with Dallas. He has the third highest winning percentage on this list and after normalization his lowest ranking in any significant passing category is 14th on the list. Also, his 195 rushing yards per season (206 actual) is #2 on this list. If he hadn't had to wait until '71 for Landry to name him the full time starter or if he had chosen to attend a four year university instead of the Naval Academy, one can only imagine that he would have easily made the top 10 and perhaps even the top 5.

The best left handed quarterback in NFL history ranks #10 on this list. Young's journey from star in the now defunct USFL, to NFL bust, to backup quarterback, to Superbowl champion and hall-of-famer is well documented. His stats are impressive; he had a passer rating of 100 or more seven out of his nine years as the starter in San Francisco (after normalization), he still holds several individual passing records, his 4,239 career rushing yards is (for now) second best for a quarterback behind only Randall Cunningham, and his lone Superbowl victory was a rout in which he threw a Superbowl record 6 touchdown passes. Despite trouble beating the Packers in the playoffs and his problems with concussions Young is well worthy of #10 ranking on this list.

There's no question that looking at stats alone (normalized or not) Marino is a top 5 quarterback on anybody's list and likely number #1 on most, but as I've said before, stats alone don't make a quarterback great. Only one Superbowl ring and I don't think it would be hard justifying Marino as the greatest ever, unfortunately that never happened and Marino's inability to bring a championship home is the reason he's ranked so low. Some folks argue that he never had a running game to assist him, but if he did...would he have put up those monsterous numbers? Furthermore, It's not just a lack of Superbowl appearances that hurt Marino's ranking on this list, but his relative lack of even conference championship apperances. Marino may be the best pure passer of all time, but if the purpose of playing football is to win championships then a guy who played in only one championship in 17 years normally wouldn't even be considered a top 10 quarterback. Marino was just too good to rank any lower than #9 on this list though.

'Frantic Fran' just edges out Dan Marino on the list. Marino may have been the better pure passer, but once you normalize the stats to adjust for their eras, Tarkenton actually beats out Marino in several statistical categories including career passing yards and passer rating. His three Superbowl appearances are also two more than Marino, but considering that he had one of the best defensive dynasties of the 60s and 70s to help him get there I couldn't really see that as a good reason to give Tarkenton the nod. Ultimately, it was Tarkenton's scrambling ability that put him over the top. His 3,674 rushing yards is second on this list and fourth all time among quarterbacks and when taken into consideration with the ridiculously great passing statistics he put up over his 18 year career he just edges out Dan Marino for the #8 slot. His inability to win a Superbowl is the only reason he's not a top 5 quarterback on this list.

The quintessential gunslinger owns most of the league's major passing records and it's hard to imagine that his 285 consecutive starts will ever be beat, so why didn't he rank higher? As impressive as his career stats are, his 317 interceptions are ridiculously more than the quarterback with the second most career interceptions on this list and his 1-1 record in Superbowls is good enough for the top 10, but it's not enough to propel him ahead of some of the other greats ahead of him on this list. However, as great as he played this season at age 40 and the fact that he made it to his 5th NFC Championship game along with the numerous other records and awards that he owns was still enough to give him the nod over Tarkenton, Marino, and Young on the list and if he'd won a second Superbowl this year he would've had a legitimate shot at somewhere in the top 3-5. Unfortunately, this season may be his worst ever so this is as high as he gets.

Despite an untimely interception that cost his team a Superbowl, a #6 ranking on this list is still more than reasonable for Manning. Already one of the most reliable quarterbacks of all time, if anybody is poised to take a run at Favre's consecutive start record Manning seems to be the kind of guy to do it, but that's not even what really makes him great. His attention to detail and demand for perfect execution on the football field may be borderline obsessive compulsive, but it's paid off. A pure passer in the mold of Marino or Jurgensen, 12 years in the league and Manning only trails Dan Marino and Brett Favre in most of the major career statistical categories; he ranks higher than both of them in several others. His 4,177 yards per season is about 500 yards per season (or around 350 after normalization) more than Favre or Marino and his career passer rating is better as well. Just pick a passing category and Manning likely owns it or is in the top 5. His four MVP awards are a record, he holds the record for most wins for a quarterback in a single decade, and he already has one Superbowl ring. I really can't think of any negatives when it comes to Manning...some folks have tried to make a deal out of his playoff record since losing the Superbowl, but when you consider that he's led the Colts to one Superbowl victory already and twice as many playoff appearances as they had in the entire 27 years between the time Johnny U. left for San Diego and the time Manning was drafted I can't fault the guy for a few close losses in big games. Ultimately, I think that one more Superbowl victory or another 5-7 seasons at or near the level he's playing at now and he's poised to make a serious run for the #1 slot, but for now he's a solid #6.

When you do the math, Captain Comeback is actually second in that particular category to Dan Marino; however, unlike Marino he was finally able to win 'the big game,' twice in fact. Statistically he never had any ridiculously great seasons, but he always seemed to have an incredibly good one and, ask the Browns, he typically played his best football when his team needed him the most. He's also the fourth best rushing quarterback on this list. Ultimately he edged out guys like Marino, Manning, and Favre because his 5 Superbowl appearances is the most by any quarterback in the Superbowl era and is tied for the third most on this list in League Championship appearances ever. Granted he lost three Superbowls, when you consider that he was surrounded by such big name wideouts as Ricky Nattiel, Mark Jackson, and Vance Johnson or such punishing backs as Sammy Winder and Steve Sewell during that time you may begin to appreciate the fact that he almost single handedly led the Broncos to three of their six AFC Championships a feat certainly deserving of a #5 ranking on this list.

If this were a list of the greatest football players of all time Slingin' Sammy would easily be #1, at one point he held 13 NFL records at three different positions, as it is, this is a quarterbacks only list however so that's what I'll stick to. There's still a great case for placing Baugh in the top 3 and maybe even #1. Despite being retired for nearly 60 years he's still tied for the record for most seasons leading the league in passing yards and he still holds the record for the most years with the lowest interception percentage. Furthermore the guy won two league championships and played in 6 conference championships throughout his 16 year career. The championships are a little less impressive when you consider the size of the league at the time, but his 335 yards against Chicago in the 1937 NFL Championship game is still the best performance for a rookie quarterback in a playoff game and even more impressive when you consider that the league average for passing yards that season was 102.2 yards per game (335 in a game would be the equivalent of someone throwing for about 700 yards in a game now). What really makes Baugh great though is how he revolutionized the game. He was the first quarterback to use the forward pass as a weapon thereby making him the first true quarterback. It was hard to not to put him in the top 3, but ultimately the era he played in just didn't allow for enough career pass attempts so his rankings in several statistical categories were too low to rank him higher than #4. I certainly wouldn't fault anyone who thinks #4 is too low however.

The most easily identifiable quarterback on this list among the 40 and older crowd ranks #3 on this list. Johnny U was the Tom Brady of his day. A 9th round draft pick coming out of Louisville he got his first start when #1 draft pick George Shaw got hurt early in the 1956 season and he never looked back. In his 18 year career Unitas won two NFL titles and one Superbowl and as the first quarterback to shine in front of 45 million viewers at home, his performance in the "Greatest Game Ever Played" helped revolutionize football forever. Despite owning most all of the major passing records at one time most of them have since been broken by some other great quarterbacks, but his 47 consecutive games with a touchdown is a record that will likely never be beaten (second place is Brett Favre with 36). His decision not to pack it in and instead play for San Diego in 1973 and the fact that he didn't play particularly well in the playoffs after 1959 hurts him slightly on this list, but his numerous contributions to the game, his three MVP awards, and three league championships are more than worthy of recognition as an all time top 3 quarterback.

Montana was not your prototypical quarterback. He never had the arm of an Elway, the size of a Marino, or the athleticism of a Steve Young, but he made up for it by having ice water for veins and killing defenses with deadly precision and accuracy. His regular season statistics are more than adequate to be considered great even among the best to have ever played, but it was his legendary post season play that made him the greatest quarterback of the Superbowl era. His 1988 and 1989 post seasons performances are two of the greatest playoff performances of all time as are his performances in Superbowls XIX and XXIV two of the greatest Superbowl performances of all time. Joe Cool may not have been as naturally talented as many of the other guys on this list but considering his name is nearly synonymous with Superbowl he's easily the best quarterback of the Superbowl era...but there's still one quarterback who ranks higher on this list.

Arguably the best winner in all of sports history, nobody should be surprised to see Otto Graham's name here (though most of you probably are). "Automatic Otto" was an easy choice for the top spot on the list. After being personally signed by legendary coach Paul Brown to play for the Cleveland Browns in the upstart AAFC, Graham went on to embody everything that makes a quarterback great.

He was tough...playing in an era of pro football when there were few rules to prevent defenders from making a living at putting quarterbacks out of commission Graham never missed a game in his pro career and even after having his jaw split open in the first half of a game in 1953, Graham returned in the second half to lead his team to a comeback victory with the first crude version of the facemask and 15 stitches in his mouth.

He was athletic...he's one of the better rushing quarterbacks on this list; his 44 rushing touchdowns (before normalization) are the most on this list and it's worth noting that before joing the Cleveland Browns, Graham spent one year playing professional basketball.

He was a great passer...His 9.0 yards per pass attempt still makes him the most productive passer of all time and after adjusting his stats for differences in eras his 4,046 yards per season (2,358 actual) is second only to Peyton Manning. Additionally, his 23 passing touchdowns per season is 9th best on the list; his career passer rating is the highest on this list and his interception percentage is the lowest...but what he did best was win.

In his entire 10 year professional football career Graham never finished a season without playing in a championship game...think about that...in 10 years he played in 10 championships and he won 7 of them. That's more than twice as many championship appearances as Montana or Bradshaw and nearly twice as many victories. Also, his regular season winning percentage of 80% is an all time record as well. With a resume like that there can be no question that Graham was the greatest to ever play the quarterback position and deserves to be #1 on this list.

Because he spent his first four years with the Browns while they were still in the AAFC and the NFL doesn't recognize AAFC championships or statistics Graham rarely gets such a high ranking in most greatest ever discussions, but to me that's just ludicrous. I could go on and on about why, but for this discussion I'll keep it short and sweet. The AAFC was not a minor football league, but one of the few leagues to truly rival the more established NFL. They signed comparable talent (nearly 2/3rds of Collge All Stars in '46) and had better attendance records. Furthermore, the Browns dominance even after being merged into the NFL is further proof that the AAFC was not a 'minor league.' Therefore, it makes sense that those stats and championships should be considered when talking about the greatest quarterback of all time, we do it for the AFL. Taking that into consideration Graham is hands down the greatest quarterback of all time.

So that's it...let the assaults begin.

Pro-Football-Reference.com
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The 100 Greatest Quarterbacks of the Modern Era, Version 1.0
The Football Book. Editors of Sports Illustrated (2005).