List of NFL annual passer rating leaders
In American football, passer rating is a measure of the performance of passers, primarily quarterbacks. Passer rating is calculated using a player's passing attempts, completions, passing yards, passing touchdowns, and interceptions. Passer rating in the National Football League is measured on a scale from 0 to 158.3, with a higher passer rating reflecting a stronger overall performance. Passer rating is sometimes colloquially referred to as "quarterback rating" or "QB rating", however the statistic applies only to passing and applies to any player at any position who throws a forward pass, not just to quarterbacks.
The NFL did not begin keeping official records until the season. In addition to the overall NFL passer rating leaders, league record books recognize the passer rating 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 passer rating record is held by Aaron Rodgers who had a rating of 122.5 in with the Green Bay Packers. Steve Young has led the NFL in passer rating a record six different times while Len Dawson achieved the same feat in the AFL.
Young also owns the longest streak of NFL passer-rating titles, pacing the league for four consecutive seasons from through. Dawson holds the overall professional-football mark, leading the AFL for five straight seasons between 1964 and 1968.
Young and Dawson therefore share the record for the most seasons finishing atop a major professional league leaderboard at six each. Four other quarterbacks—Ken Anderson, Aaron Rodgers, Bart Starr, and Roger Staubach—are tied for the next-most seasons with four apiece.
NFL annual passer rating leaders
| Symbol | Meaning |
| Leader | The player who recorded the highest passer rating in the NFL |
| Rate | The passer rating of the player |
| GP | The number of games played by a player during the season |
| Pro Football Hall of Fame member | |
| ^ | The player is an active player |
| * | Player set the single-season passer rating record |
| Denotes the number of times a player appears in this list |
AFL annual passer rating leaders
| Symbol | Meaning |
| Leader | The player who recorded the highest passer rating in the AFL |
| Rate | The passer rating of 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 passer rating record |
| Denotes the number of times a player appears in this list |
| Season | Player | Team | |||
| 1960 | 71.8* | 14 | Oakland Raiders | ||
| 1961 | 91.3* | 14 | Houston Oilers | ||
| 1962 | 98.3* | 14 | Dallas Texans | ||
| 1963 | 86.7 | 14 | San Diego Chargers | ||
| 1964 | 89.9 | 14 | Kansas City Chiefs | ||
| 1965 | 81.3 | 14 | Kansas City Chiefs | ||
| 1966 | 101.7* | 14 | Kansas City Chiefs | ||
| 1967 | 83.7 | 14 | Kansas City Chiefs | ||
| 1968 | 98.6 | 14 | Kansas City Chiefs | ||
| 1969 | 88.3 | 11 | Cincinnati Bengals |
AAFC annual passer rating leaders
| Symbol | Meaning |
| Leader | The player who recorded the best passer rating in the AAFC |
| Rate | The passer rating of 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 passing yards record |
| Denotes the number of times a player appears in this list |
| Season | Player | Team | |||
| 1946 | 112.1 | 14 | Cleveland Browns | ||
| 1947 | 109.2 | 14 | Cleveland Browns | ||
| 1948 | 102.9 | 14 | San Francisco 49ers | ||
| 1949 | 97.5 | 12 | Cleveland Browns |