Honestly, if you sat down in 1999 and said a sixth-round pick from Michigan would eventually throw nearly 650 touchdowns, people would’ve told you to stop watching so much fiction. Yet, here we are in 2026, and the list of all time touchdown passing leaders still feels like a monument to Tom Brady’s stubborn refusal to age.
Football has changed. It's faster. The rules practically bubble-wrap quarterbacks now, making the 40-touchdown season feel almost routine compared to the era of mud-stained jerseys and legal head-hunting. But even with the offensive explosion of the last decade, the summit of this mountain is incredibly lonely.
The Top Five: A League of Their Own
At the very top, you have Tom Brady with 649 career passing touchdowns. It’s a number that feels fake. To even get close, a quarterback has to average 32.5 touchdowns a year for twenty straight seasons. Think about that. Most "franchise" guys are lucky to play twelve years, let alone keep up that kind of production while their knees are screaming for mercy.
- Tom Brady: 649 TDs
- Drew Brees: 571 TDs
- Peyton Manning: 539 TDs
- Aaron Rodgers: 527 TDs (and still counting in early 2026)
- Brett Favre: 508 TDs
Drew Brees is the one people often forget was actually ahead of Brady for a hot minute. Brees was a statistical machine in New Orleans, essentially turning the Superdome into a touchdown factory. But Brady’s "second career" in Tampa Bay—where he tossed 108 scores in just three seasons—basically slammed the door on everyone else.
Then you have Aaron Rodgers. Heading into the 2025-2026 window, Rodgers has been chasing Peyton Manning’s third-place spot. It’s a bit of a weird situation with Rodgers, isn't it? He’s arguably the most efficient passer we’ve ever seen, but he spent years in a Green Bay system that didn't always prioritize the high-volume passing stats that Brees and Manning feasted on. Now, as he winds down his career (most recently seen in a Steelers uniform after that Jets stint), he’s within striking distance of 540.
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Why Dan Marino is Still the "Goat" of the 80s
If you look at the all time touchdown passing leaders list today, you’ll find Dan Marino sitting at 8th with 420 touchdowns. On paper, that looks like he's just another guy in the top ten.
That is a massive lie.
Marino threw 48 touchdowns in 1984. In 1984! Defenders were allowed to essentially clothesline receivers back then. Comparing Marino’s 420 touchdowns to a modern quarterback's 420 is like comparing a marathon run in combat boots to one run in high-tech carbon-fiber sneakers. When Marino retired in 1999, he was the king. The fact that it took until 2007 for Brett Favre to break his record tells you everything you need to know about how far ahead of his time he was.
The Active Chasers: Stafford, Mahomes, and the 2026 Landscape
Matthew Stafford is the sneaky one. He’s currently sitting at 423 touchdowns, having recently hopped over Marino. People used to dismiss Stafford because he played for some truly abysmal Detroit Lions teams, but the man has been a touchdown-per-game metronome for fifteen years. He’s effectively tied with Philip Rivers (425) for that sixth spot. If Stafford stays healthy through the 2026 season, he’s a lock for the top five.
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Then there’s Patrick Mahomes.
Mahomes is the only person who actually makes the "Brady Record" look vulnerable. He’s sitting at 267 touchdowns as of the start of 2026. He’s only 30. If you do the math, he’s actually ahead of Brady’s pace at the same age. But—and this is a huge but—longevity isn't guaranteed. Brady didn't just have talent; he had a weird, obsessive TB12-method-driven durability that let him play until he was 45. Mahomes plays a much more physical, high-variance style of football. Can he do this for another 15 years? Maybe. But he’s still nearly 400 touchdowns away. That’s a whole career’s worth of scores.
The Modern Advantage and the "Inflated" Era
We have to acknowledge the elephant in the room: the "stat-flation" of the 2020s.
Back in the 70s, Fran Tarkenton led the world with 342 touchdowns. At the time, that was considered an untouchable, DiMaggio-style record. Today, 342 touchdowns barely gets you into the top 15. The 17-game season change in 2021 was a huge part of this. Over a 15-year career, that extra game adds up to nearly a full season's worth of extra opportunities.
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Also, look at the "Red Zone" philosophy. In the 90s, if you were on the 2-yard line, you handed it to a bruising fullback. Now? You run a jet sweep or a quick slant. Quarterbacks are "stealing" touchdowns that used to belong to running backs. That’s why you see guys like Kirk Cousins (298) and Joe Flacco (272) so high on the list. Good players? Absolutely. All-time legends? The "eye test" might say no, but the touchdown totals say yes.
What Most People Get Wrong About Passing Records
Most fans think the leader list is a direct ranking of the best quarterbacks. It's not. It’s a ranking of health plus system. Drew Brees played in a dome. Manning played in a dome. Brady played for the greatest coach in history for two decades. If you put Aaron Rodgers in that New Orleans offense for 15 years, does he have 700 touchdowns? Probably.
There’s also the "garbage time" factor. A touchdown thrown while you’re down by 21 points in the fourth quarter counts exactly the same as a Super Bowl-winning strike. This isn't to take away from the leaders, but it’s why context matters. Philip Rivers never won a ring, but he's 6th all-time because he was incredibly durable and played in a pass-happy "Air Coryell" descendant system.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Historians
If you’re tracking the all time touchdown passing leaders to see who might be the next to break into the elite tiers, keep your eyes on these specific metrics:
- Touchdowns Per Game Average: Don't just look at the total. Mahomes averages about 2.2 touchdowns per game, which is significantly higher than Brady’s 1.9. This is the "Pace" stat that actually predicts future ranking.
- The Age 38 Wall: Most quarterbacks, even the greats like Brees and Manning, see a massive dip in "TD-to-INT" ratio once they hit 38. If a player is still throwing 30+ scores at age 39, they are a statistical anomaly.
- Offensive Coordinator Stability: Stats are often a product of the system. Look at how Jared Goff’s (256) numbers skyrocketed in Detroit compared to his final years in LA.
The path to 649 is long. It requires a perfect storm of health, coaching, and a league that continues to favor the pass. While the record books will likely see a lot of movement in the 10th through 20th spots over the next three years, Brady’s throne at the top looks incredibly secure for the foreseeable future.
To stay ahead of the curve on these rankings, watch the "TD%" (Touchdown Percentage) of younger stars like Josh Allen (220) and C.J. Stroud (62). If they can maintain a 5.5% or higher TD rate over the next five seasons, they’ll be the ones breathing down the necks of the top ten legends by the end of the decade.