Category profile
- Dominance
- 86
- Peak
- 92
- Longevity
- 72
- Honours
- 82
- Statistics
- 86
Career timeline · Touchdowns per season
| Season | Touchdowns per season | Share of career |
|---|---|---|
| 1965 | 5 | |
| 1966 | 4 | |
| 1967 | 3 | |
| 1968 | 2 | |
| 1969 | 4 | |
| 1970 | 3 | |
| 1971 | 2 | |
| 1972 | 2 | |
| 1973 | 1 |
Data sources
- NFL
- Pro Football Reference
- Olympics.com
Figures come from public records and are normalised per sport. See the methodology for category weights. Method
Why Dick Butkus ranks #51 in American Football
Dick Butkus ranks 51st among American Football athletes on GOAT Rank and 763rd of 1063 across every sport in the index. The published GOAT Score of 83.6 is the weighted result of five verified category scores: Dominance 86, Peak 92, Longevity 72, Honours 82, Statistics 86. Those categories are normalised against the full American Football reference universe of 378 records, not a shortlist, so the position reflects the whole sport rather than a handful of famous names.
The record covers 1965–1973 with 9 documented competitive seasons. The strongest single season in that series is 1965, 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 pro bowls 8, all-pro first teams 5, interceptions 22, fumble recoveries 27.
Immediately ahead sits Thurman Thomas on 81.8, a gap of -1.8 points. Directly behind is Troy Aikman on 81.4. 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.
Dick Butkus GOAT Score explained
- Dominance86/100 · weight 25%
- Measures how far Butkus stood above the field while competing. Scored 86/100 against the full American Football cohort.
- Peak92/100 · weight 20%
- Rates the best sustained stretch of the career, centred on 1965. Scored 92/100.
- Longevity72/100 · weight 20%
- Rewards staying at that level over time: 8 years of competition and 9 recorded seasons. Scored 72/100.
- Honours82/100 · weight 20%
- Counts documented titles, majors and awards in the verified record. Scored 82/100.
- Statistics86/100 · weight 15%
- Normalises the raw career numbers against everyone in the sport reporting the same metric. Scored 86/100.
Top Butkus comparisons
Dick Butkus — frequently asked
- Is Dick Butkus the GOAT?
- Not on the current data. Dick Butkus ranks 51st in American Football with a GOAT Score of 83.6, behind Tom Brady on 97.2.
- What is Dick Butkus's GOAT Score?
- 83.6 out of 100. It is the weighted sum of Dominance 86 (25%), Peak 92 (20%), Longevity 72 (20%), Honours 82 (20%), Statistics 86 (15%), computed from the verified career record.
- Where does Dick Butkus rank all time?
- 763rd of 1063 eligible athletes in the cross-sport index, and 51st within American Football.
- Dick Butkus vs Thurman Thomas: who ranks higher?
- Dick Butkus, on 83.6 against Thurman Thomas's 81.8 — a margin of 1.8 points.