The focus here is on the Super Bowl Era. A total of 66 different quarterbacks have started once on Super Sunday. Four of those players managed to open for two different teams, while 13 of the 66 have won at least two championships. Eight of these standout signal-callers are already enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, while three are not yet eligible. Of course, Kansas City Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes is the lone active player on this list.
The ranking is based on the player's overall career, both regular season and postseason (and even if they predated the Super Bowl). The teams listed for the 13 quarterbacks are the franchises they hoisted a Lombardi Trophy with. This prestigious baker's dozen has combined to be named Super Bowl MVP an impressive 21 times.
Last but not least, these topics are always very subjective. Enjoy and form your own conclusions.
13. Jim Plunkett, Raiders
Of the 13 men on this prestigious list, he's the only one who is not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame who is currently eligible. Jim Plunkett won a pair of Super Bowls with the well-traveled Raiders. The first came in 1980 when the team resided in Oakland. The wild card Raiders defeated the Philadelphia Eagles, 27-10, in Super Bowl XV.
The second came three years later when the team was in its second season in Los Angeles. The Silver and Black embarrassed the then-defending Super Bowl champion Washington Redskins, 38-9, in Super Bowl XVIII.
Plunkett was the first overall pick in the 1971 NFL Draft by the Boston Patriots. After five seasons with the club, he was dealt to the 49ers. After two rough years with that team, it was off to Oakland. Plunkett's 1980 season with the Raiders is one of a fairy tale and the club's Super Bowl XVIII performance was legendary. However, in each of his three stops, Plunkett threw more interceptions than touchdown passes.
12. Eli Manning, Giants
The first overall pick in 2004 by the then-San Diego Chargers played his final game in 2019. That means Former New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning's first year of Pro Football Hall of Fame eligibility would put him in the Class of 2025.
The two-time Super Bowl MVP, who orchestrated comeback wins over the New England Patriots at Arizona (XLII) and Indianapolis (XLVI), has been the subject of some debate when it comes to him being a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
The four-time Pro Bowler spent 16 seasons with the Giants and started 234-of-236 regular-season contests. He ranks 10th in NFL history in both touchdown passes (366) and aerial yardage (57,053). He led the franchise to the playoffs just six times and there is that 8-4 postseason record. However, the team was 4-0 during the 2007 and 2011 title runs. Manning and the Giants were one-and-done in the other four playoff campaigns.
11. Bob Griese, Dolphins
From 1971-73, the Miami Dolphins became the first team to make three consecutive Super Bowl appearances. They would lose to the Dallas Cowboys (V), then win back-to-back titles over the Redskins (VII) and Vikings (VIII).
Bob Griese was a solid performer who spent 14 seasons with Don Shula's club. He was named to eight Pro Bowls and earned All-Pro honors twice. Shula's team utilized a relentless ground game, which means the Pro Football Hall of Fame signal-caller did rack up big numbers.
However, that doesn't mean he was efficient. He finished his career throwing for 25,092 yards and 192 scores, with 172 interceptions and completed a more-than-respectable 56.2 percent of his throws during a different era of football.
He missed most of the Dolphins' perfect season in 1972 with a broken leg, but when called upon made his share of important plays for this team. Incredibly, that 24-7 win over Minnesota at Rice Stadium in Super Bowl VIII was 50 seasons ago.
10. Troy Aikman, Cowboys
Much like Miami's Bob Griese, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman doesn't have gaudy career numbers. He was the first overall pick in the 1989 NFL Draft, which was the first season for head coach Jimmy Johnson. Aikman and the Cowboys took their lumps early on, but things changed for the best in 1991.
That year, Johnson and the team hired Norv Turner to be the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. The move had a huge impact on Aikman, and the team would embark on a run that saw them reach the playoffs eight times in nine years. While Turner spent only three seasons in Dallas, he made his mark.
Aikman finished his 12-year career with a 61.5 completion percentage and 32,942 yards through the air. He threw only 165 touchdown passes (141 interceptions), but many of Dallas' trips to the end zone came via fellow Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith. Aikman was a six-time Pro Bowler, a three-time NFL champion and the MVP of Super Bowl XXVII. That 1992 postseason saw him hit on 68.5 percent of his passes for 795 yards, eight scores and zero picks.
9. John Elway, Broncos
He was the first overall pick in the 1983 NFL draft by the then-Baltimore Colts. Stanford University star John Elway had no desire to play for an organization that had fallen on hard times. There was a deal with the Denver Broncos, and the future Hall of Famer spent 16 seasons in the Mile High City.
There was some success but plenty of heartbreak early. Thanks to "The Drive" in the 1986 AFC Championship Game at Cleveland, the Broncos would make their first Super Bowl appearance since 1977.
There were three trips to the "Big Game" in four years, but they added up to lopsided losses, by a combined 136-40 score, to the Giants (39-20), Redskins (42-10) and 49ers (55-10). Being a one-man show got you to the Super Bowl, but the talented performer needed help.
Elway closed out his career as a two-time Super Bowl champion. Running back Terrell Davis played major roles in those wins, although Elway was named Super Bowl XXXIII in the final game of his impressive career. He is one of only 14 plays in NFL history to throw at least 300 touchdown passes.
8. Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers
He was the third of three quarterback selections in the first 11 picks of the 2004 NFL Draft. It would not be a shock to see Eli Manning, Philip Rivers and Ben Roethlisberger all wind up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. "Big Ben" did it a little better than the other two and it was more than just the numbers.
He unexpectedly made his NFL debut in Week 2 of '04 when starter Tommy Maddox went down. The team would not lose a game when he was in the starting lineup, but it all came apart in the AFC title game at home against the Patriots.
Roethlisberger would play under head coach Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin and the Steelers would reach three Super Bowls in six seasons. He helped win titles in 2005 and 2008, the former as a sixth-seed in the AFC playoffs. The second was a thriller in Tampa, and his six-yard TD connection with Santonio Holmes in the right corner of the end zone with 35 seconds to play was one of the greatest plays in Super Bowl annals.
Perhaps more was expected in the latter years. The team came up short too many times in the playoffs. "Big Ben" finished his 18-year career as one of only eight players with at least 400 touchdown passes (418), and he ranks fifth in NFL history with 64,088 passing yards.
7. Roger Staubach, Cowboys
Roger Staubach was a member of the Naval Academy and because he had made a commitment to service, he wound up being drafted in the 10th round of the 1964 NFL Draft (he was selected by the Chiefs in the AFL Draft that same year). Regardless, he didn't take the field for Tom Landry's team until 1969. By the time his career ended in 1969, he had established himself as one of the league's great field generals who never called it quits until the clock read 0:00.
He was a two-time Super Bowl champion and earned game MVP honors in 1971 (VI). The 1977 Cowboys were a total team and coasted through that postseason on the way to a 27-10 win over the Broncos (XII) at the Superdome.
There were two other Super Bowl appearances, epic battles with the Steelers that resulted in a pair of four-point losses in 1975 (X) and 1978 (XIII). Mostly, there was "Captain Comeback" and plays such as the "Hail Mary" at Minnesota in the 1975 playoffs, and a stunning 30-28 victory at San Francisco in the 1972 playoffs when Staubach and company trailed, 28-13.
6. Terry Bradshaw, Steelers
It was a different era and it was a time in which you could invest a first-round pick on a quarterback and the team could be a little patient. Terry Bradshaw was the first overall pick in 1970 by a Pittsburgh Steelers club that had appeared in one playoff game (and lost) in its first 37 seasons and was coming off a 1-13 campaign.
The raw talent made his share of mistakes. In his fifth season, he gave way to Joe Gilliam as the team's starter. He got his job back, lost it again, and then finally turned the corner late in the 1974 season. He would be at the helm of four Super Bowl title teams in six years and was the game's MVP in the last two (XIII and XIV).
Much is made of his career touchdown pass (212) to interception (210) differential of plus-2. It wasn't much better in the postseason (30-26). However, Bradshaw had a habit of coming up big in those four Super Bowls with memorable drives (Super Bowl IX) and clutch TD passes to Lynn Swann and John Stallworth.
5. Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs
He's in his sixth season as Andy Reid's main man behind center. If the previous five years are a barometer, the Chiefs will be playing football deep into January and perhaps in February.
It is a distinct possibility that if this subject is revisited in a year or two, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes may be a little higher on this list. The organization moved up in the 2017 NFL Draft to secure his services and he sat out the vast majority of his rookie season.
In each of the past five years (2018-22), Reid's team has not only won the AFC West but has hosted the conference title game. The Chiefs have made three trips to the Super Bowl and came away with victories in 2019 (LIV) and 2022 (LVII).
To date, he's played and started 91 regular-season contests. He's already thrown for 27,158 yards, 212 scores and only 58 interceptions. The postseason numbers may be more impressive. In 14 games, he's thrown five times as many TD passes (35) as interceptions (7). Those scoring tosses already rank eighth in NFL postseason history.
4. Peyton Manning, Colts and Broncos
Only two players in NFL annals have thrown for more yards and more TD passes in NFL history. He was a 14-time Pro Bowler, a seven-time All-Pro and a five-time NFL Most Valuable Player. Peyton Manning spent his first 13 seasons with the Colts and led the club to a pair of Super Bowl appearances (1-1).
He sat out all of 2011 (neck), was released by Indianapolis and spent four seasons with the Denver Broncos. Again, he led that team to two Super Bowls. He threw for an NFL record 5,477 yards and 55 scores in 2013, but the team was blasted by the Seahawks (XLIX). Two years later, he squeezed out what he left and wound up a Super Bowl 50 champion, with a huge assist from a spectacular defense.
While Manning was sensational during the regular season, he didn't have the same kind of impact in the playoffs. In 27 postseason games, he threw 40 touchdown passes but was picked off 25 times. In the season in which he led the Colts to a win in Super Bowl XLI (he was named game MVP), he threw three TD passes and seven interceptions. That shortcoming was enough to keep him out of the Top 3 on this list.
3. Bart Starr, Packers
There were five NFL championships in a seven-year span from 1961-67. Obviously, three of those titles were before the Super Bowl Era began in 1966. Again, this is a look at the careers of the 13 quarterbacks who own at least two Super Bowl rings. It would be silly to ignore what Bart Starr and the Green Bay Packers accomplished throughout the decade.
Starr was actually drafted one spot lower than Tom Brady (199). He was the 200th overall selection in the 17th round in 1956. The former University of Alabama product led the NFL in completion percentage four times in 16 seasons. He and Green Bay's fortunes changed dramatically with the hiring of head coach Vince Lombardi in 1959.
The passing game was different during Starr's era, but it didn't prevent him from completing 57.4 percent of his throws for 24,718 yards and 152 scores (138 interceptions). Under Lombardi and Starr, the Packers were 77-23-4 in nine seasons.
The two-time Super Bowl MVP's resume is indeed impressive. A 9-1 slate is enhanced by a 61.0 completion percentage, to go along with 15 TD passes and just three interceptions. His only postseason touchdown run of his career was the fabled one-yard sneak in the 1967 NFL Championship Game aka the "Ice Bowl."
2. Tom Brady, Patriots and Buccaneers
The seven-time NFL champion has been very vocal lately about the "mediocrity" in the league. It's worth noting that in his 23rd and final season, he and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the NFC South with an 8-9 record.
Of course, that should take nothing away from the most accomplished quarterback in NFL history. Tom Brady has thrown for more yards (89,214) and more touchdown passes (614) than any other player in league annals. He also owns the NFL records for passing yardage () and TD throws () in postseason play. The 199th overall pick by the Patriots in 2000 has made 10 Super Bowl appearances, nine with New England (6-3) and one with Tampa Bay (won XV). He owns seven Super Bowl rings and was named MVP five times.
Brady is certainly in the popular "GOAT" debate when it comes to his position, which is totally subjective. Patriots head coach Bill Belichick had a big hand in his development. Early in his career, he was a vital cog in a club that relied on defense and special teams. Later, he was more of a factor as the Pats expanded the playbook.
Perhaps Brady's greatest strength was understanding that football is a team game. It certainly served him well.
1. Joe Montana, 49ers
So why is the former Golden Domer at the top of the list? Like Tom Brady, Joe Montana has been mentioned as the "GOAT" when it comes to the quarterback spot. A third-round pick from Notre Dame in 1979 via Bill Walsh, he started one game as a rookie and seven in his second season.
In 1981, Montana was the season-long starter. The San Francisco 49ers rebounded from a 6-10 showing to finish 13-3. The team would hold off the Cincinnati Bengals, 26-21, in Super Bowl XVI.
The club fell to 3-6 during the 1982 strike season. That would be followed by eight consecutive playoff appearances from 1983-90. There would be three more trips to the Super Bowl, all resulting in victories. Montana was brilliant when it came to Super Sunday, capturing MVP honors three times (XVI, XIX and XXIX). There was the epic 11-play, 92-yard drive that culminated with a 10-yard TD pass to John Taylor in the club's 20-16 win over the Bengals in Super Bowl XXIII at South Florida.
While Brady's postseason statistics are awe-inspiring, the following numbers by "Joe Cool" stand out in a major way. On four Super Bowl Sundays, he connected on 83-of-122 passes (67.2 percent) for 1,142 yards, 11 touchdowns and zero interceptions. He also ran 17 times for 105 yards and two TDs. Montana never lost a fumble in a Super Bowl.
His 15-year career, which ended with a two-year stint with the Chiefs, saw him throw for 40,551 yards and 273 scores. The three-time All-Pro and two-time NFL MVP was indeed "cool." As far as the "GOAT" debate, let the battles begin.
