List of NFL annual interceptions leaders
In American football, an interception, also known as a pick, occurs when a pass intended for a player of the same team is caught by an opposition player, who then gains possession for their team. The National Football League did not begin keeping official records until the 1932 season and did not begin tracking interceptions until 1940. In addition to the NFL interception leaders, league record books recognize the interception leaders of the American Football League, which operated from 1960 to 1969 before being absorbed into the NFL in 1970. The NFL also recognizes the statistics of the All-America Football Conference, which operated from 1946 to 1949 before three of its teams were merged into the NFL, since 2025.
The single-season interception record is held by Night Train Lane, who logged 14 interceptions in 1952 while playing for the Los Angeles Rams as a rookie. Prior to that, Dan Sandifer of the Washington Redskins and Spec Sanders of the New York Yanks jointly held the record, earning 13 interceptions in 1948 and 1950 respectively. The record for most seasons leading the league in interceptions is three. This was first achieved by Everson Walls, who led the league in interceptions in 1981, 1982, and again in 1985. Ed Reed was later able to match Walls by leading the league in 2004, 2008, and 2010. Bill Bradley became the first player to lead the league in interceptions in consecutive seasons, with Everson Walls being the only other player to do so. The most recent player to lead the league in interceptions is Kevin Byard of the Chicago Bears, who finished with seven interceptions in the 2025 NFL season.
NFL annual interceptions leaders
| Symbol | Meaning |
| Leader | The player who recorded the most interceptions in the NFL |
| Ints | The total number of interceptions the player had |
| TDs | The number of interceptions returned for a touchdown by the player |
| GP | The number of games played by a player during the season |
| Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame | |
| ^ | Active player |
| * | Set the single-season interception record |
| Denotes the number of times a player appears in this list |
AFL annual interceptions leaders
| Symbol | Meaning |
| Leader | The player who recorded the most interceptions in the AFL |
| Ints | The total number of interceptions the player had |
| TDs | The number of interceptions returned for a touchdown by the player |
| GP | The number of games played by a player during the season |
| Pro Football Hall of Fame member | |
| * | Player set the single-season interception record |
| Denotes the number of times a player appears in this list |
| Season | Player | Team | ||||
| 1960 | 11* | 0 | 14 | Denver Broncos | ||
| 1961 | 10 | 0 | 14 | Buffalo Bills | ||
| 1962 | 11 | 0 | 14 | New York Titans | ||
| 1963 | 12* | 1 | 14 | Houston Oilers | ||
| 1964 | 12 | 1 | 14 | New York Jets | ||
| 1965 | 9 | 0 | 14 | Houston Oilers | ||
| 1966 | 10 | 0 | 14 | Kansas City Chiefs | ||
| 1966 | 10 | 1 | 14 | Kansas City Chiefs | ||
| 1967 | 10 | 3 | 14 | Houston Oilers | ||
| 1967 | 10 | 2 | 14 | Buffalo Bills | ||
| 1967 | 10 | 1 | 14 | Miami Dolphins | ||
| 1968 | 10 | 1 | 14 | Oakland Raiders | ||
| 1969 | 9 | 1 | 14 | Kansas City Chiefs |
AAFC annual interceptions leaders
| Symbol | Meaning |
| Player | The player who recorded the most interceptions in the AAFC |
| INTs | The total number of interceptions the player had |
| GP | The number of games played by the player during the season |
| * | Player set the single-season interception record |
| Denotes the number of times a player appears in this list |
| Season | Player | Team | |||
| 1946 | 10* | 14 | Cleveland Browns | ||
| 1947 | | 6 | 14 13 14 | Cleveland Browns San Francisco 49ers Chicago Rockets | |
| 1948 | 11* | 14 | New York Yankees | ||
| 1949 | 9 | 12 | San Francisco 49ers |