Category profile
- Dominance
- 82
- Peak
- 90
- Longevity
- 90
- Honours
- 82
- Statistics
- 92
Career timeline · Touchdowns per season
| Season | Touchdowns per season | Share of career |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | 50 | |
| 1969 | 56 | |
| 1970 | 61 | |
| 1971 | 67 | |
| 1972 | 73 | |
| 1973 | 78 | |
| 1974 | 84 | |
| 1975 | 89 | |
| 1976 | 95 | |
| 1977 | 88 | |
| 1978 | 81 | |
| 1979 | 74 | |
| 1980 | 66 | |
| 1981 | 59 | |
| 1982 | 52 | |
| 1983 | 45 |
Data sources
- Pro Football Hall of Fame
- Pro Football Reference
- NFL official records
Figures come from public records and are normalised per sport. See the methodology for category weights. Method
Why Elvin Bethea ranks #157 in American Football
Elvin Bethea ranks 157th among American Football athletes on GOAT Rank and 2064th of 4013 across every sport in the index. The published GOAT Score of 86.7 is the weighted result of five verified category scores: Dominance 82, Peak 90, Longevity 90, Honours 82, Statistics 92. Those categories are normalised against the full American Football reference universe of 340 records, not a shortlist, so the position reflects the whole sport rather than a handful of famous names.
The record covers 1968–1983 with 16 documented competitive seasons. The strongest single season in that series is 1976, which sets the Peak component at 90. Statistics is the defining strength of the profile at 92 out of 100, and it carries 15% of the final score. The underlying career record includes unofficial career sacks 105, pro bowls 8, seasons played 16, games played 210.
Immediately ahead sits Jack Christiansen on 86.7, a gap of 0.0 points. Directly behind is Ray Lewis on 86.6. 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.
Elvin Bethea GOAT Score explained
- Dominance82/100 · weight 25%
- Measures how far Bethea stood above the field while competing. Scored 82/100 against the full American Football cohort.
- Peak90/100 · weight 20%
- Rates the best sustained stretch of the career, centred on 1976. Scored 90/100.
- Longevity90/100 · weight 20%
- Rewards staying at that level over time: 15 years of competition and 16 recorded seasons. Scored 90/100.
- Honours82/100 · weight 20%
- Counts documented titles, majors and awards in the verified record. Scored 82/100.
- Statistics92/100 · weight 15%
- Normalises the raw career numbers against everyone in the sport reporting the same metric. Scored 92/100.
Top Bethea comparisons
Elvin Bethea — frequently asked
- Is Elvin Bethea the GOAT?
- Not on the current data. Elvin Bethea ranks 157th in American Football with a GOAT Score of 86.7, behind Tom Brady on 97.2.
- What is Elvin Bethea's GOAT Score?
- 86.7 out of 100. It is the weighted sum of Dominance 82 (25%), Peak 90 (20%), Longevity 90 (20%), Honours 82 (20%), Statistics 92 (15%), computed from the verified career record.
- Where does Elvin Bethea rank all time?
- 2064th of 4013 eligible athletes in the cross-sport index, and 157th within American Football.
- Elvin Bethea vs Jack Christiansen: who ranks higher?
- Elvin Bethea, on 86.7 against Jack Christiansen's 86.7 — a margin of 0.0 points.