Tom Brady Holds the NFL Career Passing Touchdown Record

Tom Brady has the most passing touchdowns in NFL history, with 649 in the regular season. He threw 541 for the New England Patriots and 108 for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers across a career spanning 2000–2022. His final two seasons in Tampa Bay helped turn a close race with Drew Brees into a 78-touchdown lead over him. Brady’s career statistics

The key distinction is touchdowns thrown, not touchdowns personally scored. A touchdown pass gives the passer a passing touchdown and the receiver a receiving touchdown; it does not add a touchdown to the passer’s scoring total. For that separate leaderboard, see most touchdowns in NFL history: scored vs. thrown.

NFL career passing touchdown leaders

These are regular-season totals, excluding preseason games and playoffs. The table uses the Associated Press leaderboard through October 25, 2026, checked on October 28; active players’ totals can change.

Rank	Quarterback	Passing touchdowns	Career seasons
1	Tom Brady	649	2000–2022
2	Drew Brees	571	2001–2020
3	Aaron Rodgers*	540	2005–2026
4	Peyton Manning	539	1998–2015
5	Brett Favre	508	1991–2010
6	Matthew Stafford*	434	2009–2026
7	Philip Rivers	425	2004–2025
8	Dan Marino	420	1983–1999
9	Ben Roethlisberger	418	2004–2021
10	Matt Ryan	381	2008–2022

* Active players. Sources: Associated Press career leaderboard for totals and active status; Pro Football Reference for career ranges. The ranges do not imply that a player appeared in every intervening season.

How the record reached Brady

Before 400, 500 or 600 touchdown passes became career landmarks, Fran Tarkenton’s 342 stood at the top. The scrambling quarterback finished his 1961–1978 career as the leader in passing touchdowns, passing yards and completions. His achievement belongs to a substantially different offensive era from Brady’s. Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Tarkenton biography

Dan Marino eventually raised the career standard to 420, all with Miami. His record was not simply a product of staying in the lineup: in 1984, his second NFL season, Marino threw 48 touchdowns, breaking the previous single-season record of 36 shared by the AFL’s George Blanda and the NFL’s Y.A. Tittle. Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Marino biography

Brett Favre passed Marino on September 30, 2007. Touchdown pass No. 421 went to Greg Jennings in the first quarter against Minnesota; Favre added No. 422 to James Jones as Green Bay won 23–16. He ultimately finished with 508. Contemporary game report; career totals

Peyton Manning then overtook Favre in Denver’s October 2014 victory over San Francisco. The record-breaking 509th touchdown pass was an eight-yard throw to Demaryius Thomas. Manning threw four scores that night, reaching 510, and ended his career with 539. Contemporary report on Manning’s record; Hall of Fame career summary

Drew Brees took the record on December 16, 2019, finding Josh Hill for a five-yard touchdown against Indianapolis. It was his 540th career touchdown pass, breaking his tie with Manning. Brady was close behind at 538. NBC Sports’ report from that night

The final handover was a race rather than a single permanent transfer. Brady and Brees traded the lead during 2020: Brady regained it at 561 on November 2, only for Brees to move back ahead at 564 in the Saints’ 38–3 win over Tampa Bay six days later. Brees finished that season—and his career—with 571. Brady continued through 2022, reaching 649. Brady’s November milestone; Associated Press’s Saints–Buccaneers report; career totals

Playoffs and single-season records are separate

Brady also leads in career playoff touchdown passes, with 88. Adding those to his 649 regular-season passes produces 737 combined, but that is not the total used in the standard career leaderboard. Playoff passing touchdown leaders

The single-season record belongs to Peyton Manning: 55 for Denver in 2013. Brady’s highest season was 50 in 2007, a total Patrick Mahomes matched in 2018. Single-season passing touchdown leaderboard

What the totals say—and what they do not

A career total measures both production and longevity: Brady appeared in 335 regular-season games across 23 seasons. It is not an era-adjusted ranking of quarterback ability. Brady’s career record

The passing environment changed along the way. In 1978, the NFL restricted defenders’ contact with receivers beyond five yards and allowed offensive linemen to extend their arms and open their hands when pass blocking. Those changes helped create more room for the passing game that Marino and later record holders exploited. Sports Business Journal’s rules history, drawing on former NFL rules officials