To land on a list as prestigious as the all-time Super Bowl passing yard leaders, you can't be a flash in the pan. There's no "one big game" that snags you a spot.
Every player ranked in the top 10 in Super Bowl passing yards appeared in at least three NFL championship games – and the majority played in four or more. Sustained success and unparalleled longevity go a long way, as you'll see when perusing the names on this list.
Let's take a detailed look at the 10 players that have thrown for the most total yards in Super Bowl history.
All-Time Super Bowl Passing Yards Leaders
Rank | Player | Appearances | Passing Yards |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Tom Brady | 10 | 3,039 |
2 | Kurt Warner* | 3 | 1,156 |
3 | Joe Montana* | 4 | 1,142 |
4 | John Elway* | 5 | 1,128 |
5 | Patrick Mahomes** | 4 | 1,071 |
6 | Peyton Manning* | 4 | 1,001 |
7 | Terry Bradshaw* | 4 | 932 |
8 | Jim Kelly* | 4 | 829 |
9 | Roger Staubach* | 4 | 734 |
10 | Troy Aikman* | 3 | 689 |
*Pro Football Hall of Famer
**Active
Editor's Note: Super Bowls below are listed as part of the NFL season, not the date the game was played. For example, Super Bowl XXXVI took place on Feb. 3, 2002, but was the last game of the 2001 NFL postseason.
1. Tom Brady (3,039 yards)
- Super Bowl XXXVI (2001): 145 yards
- Super Bowl XXXVIII (2003): 354 yards
- Super Bowl XXXIX (2004): 236 yards
- Super Bowl XLII (2007): 266 yards
- Super Bowl XLVI (2011): 276 yards
- Super Bowl XLIX (2014): 328 yards
- Super Bowl LI (2016): 466 yards
- Super Bowl LII (2017): 505 yards
- Super Bowl LII (2018): 262 yards
- Super Bowl LV (2020): 201 yards
There might not be any superlatives left to describe Brady's sheer and utter dominance as an NFL player – but worshiping his numbers never goes out of style.
Brady owns a 1,883-yard lead over runner-up Kurt Warner, and he's just 387 yards short of equaling the combined totals of Nos. 2-4 on the list. Even if another quarterback managed to match Brady's 10 Super Bowl appearance, that QB would need to average 304 yards per Super Bowl to surpass TB12 – and only one other signal caller on this list averaged more than 300 yards in his multiple Super Bowl starts.
Any way you spin it, there's never been a more prolific QB than Brady – and might never be again.
2. Kurt Warner (1,156 yards)
- Super Bowl XXXIV (1999): 414 yards
- Super Bowl XXXVI (2001): 365 yards
- Super Bowl XLIII (2008): 377 yards
To simply mention Warner as "the distant No. 2" on this list diminishes the significance of his time in the Super Bowl spotlight.
Though Warner won just one of his three Super Bowl starts, you can hardly blame him for the two defeats. Warner averaged an absurd 385.3 yards in three NFL title games, including an incredible 414-yard performance in leading "The Greatest Show on Turf" to a thrilling win at Super Bowl XXXIV.
It would have been nice to see Warner play in even one more Super Bowl, if only to shrink the gap between himself and Brady.
3. Joe Montana (1,142 yards)
- Super Bowl XVI (1981): 157 yards
- Super Bowl XIX (1984): 331 yards
- Super Bowl XXIII (1988): 357 yards
- Super Bowl XXIV (1989): 297 yards
Even the shortest list of most accomplished Super Bowl quarterbacks must include San Francisco 49ers signal caller Joe Montana in it.
You can make an air-tight argument that he's the second most-successful QB in the NFL championship game history, leading the Niners to Super Bowl victories in each of his four appearances while averaging 285.5 passing yards per game (even with a modest 157-yard performance in his Super Bowl debut).
4. John Elway (1,128 yards)
- Super Bowl XXI (1986): 304 yards
- Super Bowl XXII (1987): 257 yards
- Super Bowl XXIV (1989): 108 yards
- Super Bowl XXXII (1997): 123 yards
- Super Bowl XXXIII (1998): 336 yards
Before becoming one of the most notable NFL front-office executives, Elway was one of the most accomplished quarterbacks of his era, evidenced by his five Super Bowl starts (second only to Brady all-time).
The No. 1 pick in the 1983 NFL draft had a rough go of it early on – going 0-3 in Super Bowl appearances over his first seven seasons – but was redeemed in the twilight of his playing tenure, leading Denver to back-to-back Super Bowl titles in the late 1990s. Interestingly, Elway threw just three TD passes with eight interceptions in his five Super Bowl starts.
5. Patrick Mahomes (1,071 yards)
- Super Bowl LIV (2019): 286 yards
- Super Bowl LV (2020): 270 yards
- Super Bowl LVII (2022): 182 yards
- Super Bowl LVIII (2023): 333 yards
If anyone in the next 20 years has a shot at approaching Brady's lofty Super Bowl passing yards record, it's Patrick Mahomes.
Having already appeared in four Super Bowls, Mahomes is no stranger to the spotlight. And at just 29, he still has plenty of time to rack up the NFL championship appearances (Brady was 30 when he played in his fourth Super Bowl).
Of course, NFL career arcs are completely unpredictable – and expecting Mahomes to age like the greatest quarterback of all-time is quite an ask.
6. Peyton Manning (1,001 yards)
- Super Bowl XLI (2006): 247 yards
- Super Bowl XLIV (2009): 333 yards
- Super Bowl XLVIII (2013): 280 yards
- Super Bowl 50 (2015): 141 yards
The former "Saturday Night Live" star and Nationwide Insurance pitch man was also a decent football player in his day.
Manning made two Super Bowl appearances each with the Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos; went 1-for-1 in both cities, but racked up more passing yards in his two stints with the Colts (580 to 421). Like Elway, Manning's other passing numbers weren't so great: He had just three TD passes and five interceptions in his four appearances.
7. Terry Bradshaw (932 yards)
- Super Bowl IX (1974): 96 yards
- Super Bowl X (1975): 209 yards
- Super Bowl XIII (1978): 318 yards
- Super Bowl XIV (1979): 309 yards
Whenever someone talks about how some people get better with age, it's clear they mean Terry Bradshaw.
The legendary Pittsburgh Steelers QB won all four of his Super Bowl appearances, but didn't do much in the first two, throwing just 33 total passes for a combined 295 yards in those victories. He was considerably more active in the Steelers' next back-to-back title run, racking up 627 total passing yards and six scores (with four INTs, but whatever).
8. Jim Kelly (829 yards)
- Super Bowl XXV (1990): 212 yards
- Super Bowl XXVI (1991): 275 yards
- Super Bowl XXVII (1992): 82 yards
- Super Bowl XXVIII (1993): 260 yards
Buffalo Bills fans will no doubt approach this section with a bittersweet mix of wonderful nostalgia and heart-rending agony.
Kelly was at the helm for each of the Bills' four consecutive Super Bowl appearances in the early 1990s, each of which resulted in Buffalo losses (all to teams in the current NFC East, if you're ever wondering which division Bills fans like the least). Kelly twice finished with 50+ pass attempts in a Super Bowl game, but could only manage a pair of touchdown passes while throwing seven interceptions in his four NFL title appearances.
9. Roger Staubach (734 yards)
- Super Bowl VI (1971): 119 yards
- Super Bowl X (1975): 204 yards
- Super Bowl XII (1977): 183 yards
- Super Bowl XIII (1978): 228 yards
Well before Brady stunned the football world as the 199th overall pick in 2000, there was Roger the Dodger, who was taken 129th overall in 1964. And it's safe to say the Staubach pick gets an A+ grade in retrospect.
In addition to orchestrating an impressive 85-29 regular-season record in Dallas, Staubach guided the Cowboys to a pair of Super Bowl championships with an 8-4 all-time touchdown-to-interception ratio. And while his yards totals were modest, few people came away thinking Staubach was anything other than a key component in Dallas' title success.
10. Troy Aikman (689 yards)
- Super Bowl XXVII (1992): 273 yards
- Super Bowl XXVIII (1993): 207 yards
- Super Bowl XXX (1995): 209 yards
Let's wrap this up with another legendary Dallas QB – this one drafted much earlier (first overall in 1989) and even more successful in Super Bowls (going 3-0 for his career).
Aikman was Kelly's foil in the Cowboys' back-to-back drubbings of the Bills in Super Bowls XXVII and XXVIII, then helped Dallas gut out a 27-17 win over the Steelers at Super Bowl XXX two years later. And while he certainly had a stout run game and elite defense, Aikman was full value for all three of those wins, as well.