Category profile
- Dominance
- 80
- Peak
- 92
- Longevity
- 86
- Honours
- 84
- Statistics
- 88
Career timeline · Touchdowns per season
| Season | Touchdowns per season | Share of career |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 41 | |
| 1973 | 290 | |
| 1974 | 1092 | |
| 1975 | 893 | |
| 1976 | 1111 | |
| 1977 | 540 | |
| 1978 | 709 | |
| 1979 | 844 | |
| 1980 | 858 | |
| 1981 | 635 | |
| 1982 | 322 | |
| 1983 | 696 | |
| 1984 | 401 | |
| 1985 | 145 |
Data sources
- NFL.com
- Pro Football Reference
- Pro Football Hall of Fame
Figures come from public records and are normalised per sport. See the methodology for category weights. Method
Why Cliff Branch ranks #88 in American Football
Cliff Branch ranks 88th among American Football athletes on GOAT Rank and 1301st of 2289 across every sport in the index. The published GOAT Score of 85.6 is the weighted result of five verified category scores: Dominance 80, Peak 92, Longevity 86, Honours 84, Statistics 88. Those categories are normalised against the full American Football reference universe of 381 records, not a shortlist, so the position reflects the whole sport rather than a handful of famous names.
The record covers 1972–1985 with 14 documented competitive seasons. The strongest single season in that series is 1976, which sets the Peak component at 92. Peak is the defining strength of the profile at 92 out of 100, and it carries 20% of the final score. The underlying career record includes super bowl titles 3, career receiving yards 8685, receiving touchdowns 67, pro bowls 4.
Immediately ahead sits John Lynch on 85.6, a gap of 0.0 points. Directly behind is Johnny Robinson on 85.6. The position moves whenever the verified record moves: new titles, new seasons or a corrected source all feed straight back into the same formula, and every change is dated on this profile.
Cliff Branch GOAT Score explained
- Dominance80/100 · weight 25%
- Measures how far Branch stood above the field while competing. Scored 80/100 against the full American Football cohort.
- Peak92/100 · weight 20%
- Rates the best sustained stretch of the career, centred on 1976. Scored 92/100.
- Longevity86/100 · weight 20%
- Rewards staying at that level over time: 13 years of competition and 14 recorded seasons. Scored 86/100.
- Honours84/100 · weight 20%
- Counts documented titles, majors and awards in the verified record. Scored 84/100.
- Statistics88/100 · weight 15%
- Normalises the raw career numbers against everyone in the sport reporting the same metric. Scored 88/100.
Top Branch comparisons
Cliff Branch — frequently asked
- Is Cliff Branch the GOAT?
- Not on the current data. Cliff Branch ranks 88th in American Football with a GOAT Score of 85.6, behind Tom Brady on 97.2.
- What is Cliff Branch's GOAT Score?
- 85.6 out of 100. It is the weighted sum of Dominance 80 (25%), Peak 92 (20%), Longevity 86 (20%), Honours 84 (20%), Statistics 88 (15%), computed from the verified career record.
- Where does Cliff Branch rank all time?
- 1301st of 2289 eligible athletes in the cross-sport index, and 88th within American Football.
- Cliff Branch vs John Lynch: who ranks higher?
- Cliff Branch, on 85.6 against John Lynch's 85.6 — a margin of 0.0 points.