In light of Brett Favre’s recent retirement, the Biz of Football has compiled a list of the ten best quarterbacks in NFL history.

Votes for the quarterback rankings were submitted by Biz of Football Editor of Content Bill Jordan, Business of Sports Network President Maury Brown, BSN Editor Devon Teeple, BSN Transcriber Nick Kappel and Biz of Football Contributor Craig Wilson.

The voters listed their top ten quarterbacks and they were submitted to the Editor of Content for the final listing.

1. Joe Montana, San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs (Five first place votes.)

Montana is not only probably the best third round draft pick ever, he is also the best quarterback in NFL history. Montana is most famous for his post season heroics and according to the NFL Hall of Fame’s website is the, “Master of come-from-behind victories.” His most famous of these comebacks would be his 92-yard drive at the end of Super Bowl XXIII against the Cincinnati Bengals. Legend has it that when he jogged into the huddle, instead of calling a play, he pointed out to his linemen that actor John Candy was sitting in the stands. According to his blockers, that’s when they knew they were going to win the game. In addition to his four Super Bowl wins (tied for first all-time), he also traveled to the Pro Bowl eight times, was named All-NFC five times, All NFL three times, amassed over 40,000 yards passing to go along with 273 touchdowns, and is the proud owner of three Super Bowl MVP trophies.

2. John Elway, Denver Broncos (Three second place votes, two third place votes.)

Although Montana is best known for his comebacks, Elway actually has the record for most fourth quarter come from behind wins with 47. His most memorable comeback came against the Cleveland Browns in the AFC Championship Game when he drove his Broncos 98 yards for the winning score. To true football fans, this is famously called “The Drive.” Even though it took him four tries to win the big game, he capped his career with back-to-back Super Bowls in the late 1990’s, during one of which he was named MVP. His award case also contains the 1987 NFL MVP trophy. The rest of his impressive resume includes one first team and three second team All NFL selections, nine Pro Bowl appearances, four All-AFC selections, over 51,000 yards passing and exactly 300 touchdowns.

3. Dan Marino, Miami Dolphins (One second place vote, two fourth place votes, two fifth place votes.)

Marino was once held almost every record a quarterback could ever think of owning. He is believed by many to be the most consistently accurate quarterback in NFL history. The one blemish on his record is that he was never able to win the Super Bowl. Marino was a great regular season quarterback, but many would argue that he lacked the killer instinct that could have brought him the Lombardi Trophy. (Although the lack of a great supporting cast was a big part of the equation as well.) During his career, he became the first player ever to pass for more than 5,000 yards in a single season and once held the record for the most touchdown passes in a season with 48. (A record that stood until three seasons ago.) Marino was named to either the first or second All-Pro teams eight times, was All-AFC six times and was selected to the Pro Bowl on nine occasions.

4. Brett Favre, Green Bay Packers (One second place vote, two third place votes, one fourth place vote, one ninth place vote.)

The recently retired Favre famously finished his career with almost every record possible for a quarterback to set including passing yards, touchdown passes, pass completions, pass attempts, most career and consecutive starts for a quarterback and the most wins for a starting quarterback. Favre is also the only player to be named the NFL MVP three times during their career. He took his team to the Super Bowl twice, winning the first trip against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXI. He has taken some slack over the past couple of seasons for taking too long on his retirement decision, and now that he has announced his retirement, many national analysts claim it won’t be long until he’s back in uniform. Favre’s impressive career statistics stand with over 61,000 yards passing and 442 touchdown passes.

5. Terry Bradshaw, Pittsburgh Steelers (One fourth place vote, one sixth place vote, two seventh place votes.)

Bradshaw thanked the Steelers for taking him first overall in the 1970 NFL draft by quarterbacking them to four Super Bowl wins. During two of those contests, he was named the game’s MVP. In addition to the Super Bowls, he also added eight AFC Championship trophies to the Steelers’ trophy case. He has held post season and Super Bowl records for the most yards and touchdowns in a career. He is possibly best remembered for calling his own plays and his NFL MVP season of 1978. At the end of his career, he had thrown for almost 28,000 yards and 212 touchdowns while rushing for another 2,200 yards and 32 touchdowns.

6. Tom Brady, New England Patriots (Two sixth place votes, two seventh place votes, one eighth place vote.)

Brady is without a doubt the best sixth round draft pick in NFL history. Brady has won three Super Bowls, and played in four, and his career might not even be half way over. He has publicly restructured his contract so that he would be able to have better talent around him. His trophy case already includes one regular season and two Super Bowl MVP trophies. He has been elected the Pro Bowl on four different occasions, was Sports Illustrated’s “Sportsman of the Year” in 2005 and the Associated Press’ “Male Athlete of the Year.” He is the first quarterback ever to lead his team to a perfect 16-0 regular season and he helped string together a record 21 victories. (He’s also dating a Victoria’s Secret model.) Once again, his career is only half over and he is the only person who can wear a Yankee hat and not be hated by New Englanders.

7. Steve Young, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, San Francisco 49ers (One sixth place vote, one eighth place vote, one ninth place vote.)

The second best quarterback in his team’s history and still the seventh best all time (according to this voting). Young is tied for the most seasons leading the league in passing with six. He gave the 49ers their fifth Super Bowl title in amazing fashion; by throwing six touchdowns and being named the game’s MVP. The two time MVP was selected as an All-Pro four times and was elected to seven Pro Bowls. Young is widely remembered for his ability to move around in the pocket and avoid the pass rush. He once owned the record for the best single season quarterback rating with 112.8. His career stats stand with over 33,000 yards passing, 232 touchdowns through the air and another 43 on the ground.

8. Johnny Unitas, Baltimore Colts, San Diego Chargers (One fifth place vote, one sixth place vote, one eighth place vote.)

Unitas is one of the only quarterbacks who was able to win a title in multiple eras. Be won two NFL championships and then led the Colts to a victory in Super Bowl V. His whole career, he let the Steelers know why they shouldn’t have cut him in 1955 as he was named All-NFL six times and won the Player of the Year Award (now the MVP) three times. He was elected to the Pro Bowl 10 times where he was named MVP of the game on three different occasions. He put an amazing string together where he threw at least one touchdown pass in 47 straight games. He retired with slightly over 40,000 career passing yards and 290 touchdowns.

9. Bart Starr, Green Bay Packers (One fourth place vote, two tenth place votes.)

If Brady is this era’s great late round draft pick, Starr should hold this award for the best all time as he was not selected until the 17^th round. (Today, the NFL draft has just seven rounds, so Starr would have been without a job.) Starr is often overshadowed by Favre in the conversation of greatest quarterbacks who played in green and yellow, but he held his own as a Packer. He took the Cheese Heads to six division titles, five NFL titles and victories in Super Bowls I and II. The 1966 MVP was elected to four Pro Bowls during his career and was a three time passing champion. His career statistics include over 24,000 yards through the air and 152 touchdowns. (Comparing these numbers to the quarterbacks of more recent eras is really unfair because of the conditioning that is now available. With that in mind, it becomes even more amazing that Starr retired with a 57.4 completion percentage.)

10. Otto Graham, Cleveland Browns (One third place vote, one fifth place vote.)

This pick is for all of those pre-Super Bowl football history buffs out there. They may remember that Graham is the only starter on any team in any sport to lead his team to the championship game in ten straight seasons. During that decade of winning, a bad season for the Browns included a division title. He won six passing titles; four with the AAFC and two with the NFL. During his ten year career, he was named an All-Pro nine times. (Just in case you don’t understand how remarkable that is, think of him not being named an All-Pro only once in ten years, something that would never even be thought of in today’s game.) His performances in title games include throwing for four touchdowns in the 1950 NFL Championship game. Clevelanders also remember his performance in the 1954 title game where he passed for three scores and ran for three more. His career statistics (for a career that was in the 1940s and 50s) stand at 23,500 passing yards and 174 touchdowns.

Honorable Mentions

Troy Aikman, Dallas Cowboys (Two seventh place votes.)

Aikman will never be considered a waste of a draft pick as he was selected first overall by the Cowboys in 1989. He brought Dallas three Super Bowl wins during his 12 year career. He holds the record of having the most wins of any quarterback in any decade with 90 wins in the 1990s. He was voted an All-Pro once, and was on the All-NFC second team on two separate occasions. During his career, Aikman held 47 different Cowboy records. The six time Pro Bowler also posted a total of 17 300-yard games.

Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts (One fifth place vote, one ninth place vote.)

Manning holds the record for the most commercials made by any NFL player, not just quarterbacks and he’s pretty good on the field as well. The former first overall draft pick is seen as possibly the most consistently accurate quarterback in NFL history. He, along with his two family members, led the NFL in relatives starting at quarterback in the NFL. The former holder of the record for the most touchdowns in a single season holds the record for most seasons over 4,000 yards passing. He already holds numerous records in Colts’ quarterback history. He has won one Super Bowl in which he was named the game’s MVP despite not having an outstanding performance. The two-time league MVP is widely known for the dance that he does behind the line before he snaps the ball as he probably leads the league in changing the play at the line of scrimmage. He has a hospital named after him and appeared on Saturday Night Live. His career is also not close to being over.

Others Receiving Votes

Roger Staubach, Dallas Cowboys (One eighth place vote.)

Phil Simms, New York Giants (One ninth place vote.)

Jim Kelly, Buffalo Bills (One ninth place vote.)

Fran Tarkenton, Minnesota Vikings and New York Giants (One tenth place vote.)

Warren Moon, Houston Oilers, Minnesota Vikings, Seattle Seahawks and Kansas City Chiefs (One tenth place vote.)

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