Although some may be sick of hearing about Brett Favre and even some may think he is overated and should've hung up the jersey years ago, there is no question his numbers will earn him a spot among the greatest football players to step on to the hashmarks. Just for today, I am going to put aside all of the drama and confusion that has come with Brett and take a solid look at his stats. All are averaged over his entire career.

Years Pro: 18
QB Rating: 85.6
TD: 463
Average TD Per Year: 25
INT: 307
Average INT Per Year: 17

Not too shabby. As we all know, he holds the record for most touchdowns, and interceptions, thrown in a career. Now the question is, who will break his touchdown record? I've put together a collected list of some of today's quarterbacks and what is needed for them to catch Brett in the race for the record. Again, all stats are averaged throughout their entire career.

Peyton Manning
Years Pro: 11
QB Rating: 94.6
TD: 332
Average TD Per Year: 30
INT: 165
Average INT Per Year: 15

In order for Peyton Manning to tie Brett Favre's current touchdown record by the time he reaches 18 seasons, he will have to average 18 touchdowns per season for the next 7 seasons.

Tom Brady
Years Pro: 9
QB Rating: 92.9
TD: 197
Average TD Per Year: 21
INT: 86
Average INT Per Year: 9

In order for Tom Brady to tie Brett Favre's current touchdown record by the time he reaches 18 seasons, he will have to average 29 touchdowns per season for the next 9 seasons.

Carson Palmer
Years Pro: 5
QB Rating: 88.9
TD: 107
Average TD Per Year: 21
INT: 67
Average INT Per Year: 13

In order for Carson Palmer to tie Brett Favre's current touchdown record by the time he reaches 18 seasons, he will have to average 27 touchdowns per season for the next 13 seasons.

Aaron Rogers
Years Pro: 4
QB Rating: 89.7
TD: 24
Average TD Per Year: 6
INT: 13
Average INT Per Year: 3

In order for Aaron Rogers to tie Brett Favre's current touchdown record by the time he reaches 18 seasons, he will have to average 31 touchdowns per year for the next 14 seasons.

Tony Romo
Years Pro: 4
QB Rating: 95.9
TD: 81
Average TD Per Year: 20
INT: 45
Average INT Per Year: 11

In order for Tony Romo to tie Brett Favre's current touchdown record by the time he reaches 18 seasons, he will have to average 27 touchdowns per year for the next 14 seasons.

Eli Manning
Years Pro: 5
QB Rating: 76.1
TD: 98
Average TD Per Year: 19
INT: 74
Average INT Per Year: 14

In order for Eli Manning to tie Brett Favre's current touchdown record by the time he reaches 18 seasons, he will have to average 28 touchdowns per year for the next 13 seasons.

Matt Ryan
Years Pro: R
QB Rating: 89.7
TD: 15
INT: 9

In order for Matt Ryan to tie Brett Favre's current touchdown record by the time he reaches 18 seasons, he will have to average 26 touchdowns per year for the next 17 seasons.

Phillip Rivers
Years Pro: 5
QB Rating: 92.3
TD: 76
Average TD Per Year: 15
INT: 36
Average INT Per Year: 7

In order for Phillip Rivers to tie Brett Favre's current touchdown record by the time he reaches 18 seasons, he will have to average 29 touchdowns per year for the next 13 seasons.

Jay Cutler
Years Pro: 3
QB Rating: 97.6
TD: 53
Average TD Per Year: 17
INT: 35
Average INT Per Year: 11

In order for Jay Cutler to tie Brett Favre's current touchdown record by the time he reaches 18 seasons, he will have to average 27 touchdowns per year for the next 15 seasons.


When it is all said and done, we could make several arguments as to why any of these quarterbacks will or will not tie Brett Favre's touchdown record. There are several X-Factors that I did not put into effect, but probably should have been, such as injury, time spent on the bench, playoffs, etc. And by no means am I labeling Brett Favre the best quarterback ever. I'm simply putting him into the discussion. In fact, I'm not even much of a Brett Favre fan. It will be difficult for any quarterback to accomplish what he has. But to step away from the drama and look at the overall career of a historic sports figure is something we all need to do every once in a while. I mean, this is a guy who's first completed pass in the NFL was to, well, himself.

You can catch me on The Morning V.I.P every Saturday morning from 10:00 AM until Noon CST on Fox Sports Radio WBGN. Check out the website, www.morningvip.com.

-Ross Dillon
Ross.Dillon379@wku.edu