Honestly, the list of super bowl winning qbs by year looks like a "who’s who" of football royalty, but it’s actually way weirder than that when you look at the gaps. You’ve got legends like Tom Brady who seem to win every other Tuesday, and then you have guys like Trent Dilfer or Brad Johnson who just... happened to be there.
It’s not always about being the best. Sometimes, it’s about being the guy who didn't mess it up while a historic defense carried the load. But since the game started back in '67, the quarterback has become the face of the franchise. If you win, you're a hero. If you lose, you're the reason the city is crying into its wings.
The Early Icons and the AFL Shocker
In the beginning, it was all about the Green Bay Packers. Bart Starr won the first two (1967, 1968) and basically set the template for what a "winning" QB looked like: disciplined, efficient, and slightly terrifying to his own teammates. Then came the guarantee.
Joe Namath didn't just win Super Bowl III in 1969; he fundamentally changed the NFL's ego. Before that, the AFL was seen as a junior varsity league. Broadway Joe's win for the Jets proved that the underdogs could actually play.
- 1967: Bart Starr (Packers)
- 1968: Bart Starr (Packers)
- 1969: Joe Namath (Jets)
- 1970: Len Dawson (Chiefs)
- 1971: Johnny Unitas (Colts)
Unitas winning in 1971 was sort of a sunset victory. He was the "old guard," and seeing him hoist the trophy after a messy, turnover-filled game against the Cowboys was a strange bridge to the next era.
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The 70s and 80s: Dynasties and the West Coast Revolution
The 70s belonged to the Steel Curtain and Captain America. You basically had three guys hogging the trophies for a decade. Terry Bradshaw won four. Roger Staubach won two. Bob Griese got his two during the Dolphins' perfect-ish era.
It’s kind of wild that Bradshaw is often called a "game manager" when he was airing it out to Lynn Swann and John Stallworth for deep touchdowns every chance he got.
- 1972: Roger Staubach (Cowboys)
- 1973: Bob Griese (Dolphins)
- 1974: Bob Griese (Dolphins)
- 1975: Terry Bradshaw (Steelers)
- 1976: Terry Bradshaw (Steelers)
- 1977: Ken Stabler (Raiders)
- 1978: Roger Staubach (Cowboys)
- 1979: Terry Bradshaw (Steelers)
- 1980: Terry Bradshaw (Steelers)
Then the 80s hit, and Joe Montana happened. The 49ers' West Coast offense made everyone else look like they were playing in slow motion. Montana’s four wins (1982, 1985, 1989, 1990) are the gold standard for efficiency. He didn't just win; he didn't throw interceptions. He was "Joe Cool" for a reason.
Interspersed in there, you had some absolute anomalies. Jim Plunkett revived a dead career to win two for the Raiders. Jim McMahon wore sunglasses and led the '85 Bears. Doug Williams made history in 1988 by being the first Black QB to win it, throwing four touchdowns in a single quarter against the Broncos.
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The Modern Era: From Brady's Reign to the Mahomes Takeover
We really have to talk about the 2000s as the "Brady vs. Everyone Else" era. It started in 2002 when a skinny kid with no mobility took down the "Greatest Show on Turf."
Tom Brady ended up with seven rings. Seven. That’s more than any single franchise in the NFL. He won three early on, went on a decade-long drought where he kept losing to Eli Manning (the only guy who seemingly had his number), and then won four more in his late 30s and 40s.
Recent Super Bowl Winning QBs by Year
The last decade has seen a shift toward the "hyper-mobile" QB, but Patrick Mahomes has largely just decided he owns the trophy.
- 2019: Tom Brady (Patriots) - The final New England win.
- 2020: Patrick Mahomes (Chiefs) - The comeback against the Niners.
- 2021: Tom Brady (Buccaneers) - Just to prove he could do it without Belichick.
- 2022: Matthew Stafford (Rams) - The ultimate "he was stuck in Detroit" redemption.
- 2023: Patrick Mahomes (Chiefs) - Won on a bad ankle against the Eagles.
- 2024: Patrick Mahomes (Chiefs) - The "back-to-back" that cemented him as the current king.
- 2025: Jalen Hurts (Eagles) - The most recent shocker where Philly finally got their revenge on KC.
The 2025 Super Bowl (LIX) was a massive deal. The Chiefs were hunting for a three-peat, which has literally never happened in the Super Bowl era. But Jalen Hurts and that Eagles defense just smothered them. Hurts was named MVP, throwing for two scores and running for another, effectively ending the Mahomes "dynasty" talk for at least one season.
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Why the Winning QB List is Misleading
If you just look at the names, you'd think the best QB always wins. That’s a lie. Dan Marino never won a Super Bowl. Jim Kelly went to four straight and won zero.
Meanwhile, Nick Foles (2018) came off the bench and out-dueled Tom Brady in a game where both teams forgot how to play defense. Joe Flacco (2013) had one "elite" month and earned a massive contract off of it.
Football is a team sport, but the history of super bowl winning qbs by year treats it like a solo act. The reality? You need a kicker who doesn't choke, a defense that can get a stop, and a QB who stays calm when the lights are the brightest.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Historians
If you're tracking these stats for trivia or betting, keep these weird trends in mind:
- The "First Year" Curse: It’s incredibly rare for a rookie QB to win a Super Bowl. Experience almost always wins out.
- Repeat Winners: Only a handful of guys have won back-to-back. Mahomes (2023-24), Brady (2004-05), Elway (1998-99), Aikman (1993-94), Montana (1989-90), Bradshaw (75-76 & 79-80), Griese (73-74), and Starr (67-68).
- The Age Factor: Don't bet against the old guys. Brady and Peyton Manning proved that a 40-year-old brain is often better than a 25-year-old arm in a high-pressure situation.
To truly understand the legacy of the game, stop looking at just the rings and start looking at the defensive rankings of the teams these guys played for. You'll find that many "great" QBs were actually just the beneficiaries of incredible timing.
For a complete deep-dive into the specific play-by-play data or to see the full list of losing QBs (the "forgotten" ones), cross-reference these names with the Pro Football Hall of Fame database to see who actually made the cut based on their whole career versus just one lucky Sunday.