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Touchdown-to-interception ratio: all 16 quarterbacks ranked

Last updated October 19, 2026 · 2 min read

Passing yards tell you who played the longest. The ratio of touchdown passes to interceptions tells you something different: how much damage a quarterback did for each mistake he made. Here is that ratio for all 16 quarterbacks on the ladder.

What stands out

Tom Brady is in a class of his own. His 649 touchdowns against 212 interceptions work out to 3.06 touchdowns per interception. The next best on the ladder is Drew Brees at 2.34, then Steve Young at 2.17 and Peyton Manning at 2.15.

The bottom of the list skews older. The four lowest ratios belong to Dan Fouts (1.05), Johnny Unitas (1.15), Troy Aikman (1.17) and Warren Moon (1.25). Unitas played entirely before the NFL’s 1978 rule changes that favored passing, and Fouts began his career before them, so the ratio says as much about the era as about the player.

Favre’s total is the outlier. He threw 336 interceptions, 70 more than the next highest total on the ladder (Fran Tarkenton, 266). But he also threw 508 touchdowns, so his ratio of 1.51 is close to Eli Manning’s 1.50 and ahead of John Elway’s 1.33.

Why this matters for the game

When a matchup asks who threw more interceptions, the answer is often the opposite of who was better. Steve Young (107) and Troy Aikman (141) have the two lowest totals, but only because each threw far fewer passes than the 60,000-yard group. Meanwhile the closest interception matchups on the ladder involve some of the best-known names: Dan Marino (252) vs. Johnny Unitas (253), and Peyton Manning (251) vs. Dan Marino (252).

A good habit for interception questions: ask first how many passes he threw, and only then how careful he was. Volume explains most of the total. See our guide on longevity versus efficiency for the longer version, and the full quarterback table for every number used here.

Put it into practice: start a climb.