Category profile
- Dominance
- 78
- Peak
- 84
- Longevity
- 88
- Honours
- 74
- Statistics
- 88
Career timeline · Touchdowns per season
| Season | Touchdowns per season | Share of career |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 1997 | |
| 1962 | 2595 | |
| 1963 | 2311 | |
| 1964 | 2506 | |
| 1965 | 2609 | |
| 1966 | 2561 | |
| 1967 | 3088 | |
| 1968 | 2555 | |
| 1969 | 2918 | |
| 1970 | 2777 | |
| 1971 | 2567 | |
| 1972 | 2651 | |
| 1973 | 2113 | |
| 1974 | 2598 | |
| 1975 | 2994 | |
| 1976 | 2961 | |
| 1977 | 1734 | |
| 1978 | 3468 |
Data sources
- NFL
- 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 Fran Tarkenton ranks #45 in American Football
Fran Tarkenton ranks 45th among American Football athletes on GOAT Rank and 676th of 1063 across every sport in the index. The published GOAT Score of 81.9 is the weighted result of five verified category scores: Dominance 78, Peak 84, Longevity 88, Honours 74, Statistics 88. 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 1961–1978 with 18 documented competitive seasons. The strongest single season in that series is 1978, which sets the Peak component at 84. Longevity is the defining strength of the profile at 88 out of 100, and it carries 20% of the final score. The underlying career record includes passing yards 47003, passing touchdowns 342, league mvp awards 1, pro bowls 9.
Immediately ahead sits Eli Manning on 83.3, a gap of 1.4 points. Directly behind is Ben Roethlisberger on 81.7. 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.
Fran Tarkenton GOAT Score explained
- Dominance78/100 · weight 25%
- Measures how far Tarkenton stood above the field while competing. Scored 78/100 against the full American Football cohort.
- Peak84/100 · weight 20%
- Rates the best sustained stretch of the career, centred on 1978. Scored 84/100.
- Longevity88/100 · weight 20%
- Rewards staying at that level over time: 17 years of competition and 18 recorded seasons. Scored 88/100.
- Honours74/100 · weight 20%
- Counts documented titles, majors and awards in the verified record. Scored 74/100.
- Statistics88/100 · weight 15%
- Normalises the raw career numbers against everyone in the sport reporting the same metric. Scored 88/100.
Top Tarkenton comparisons
Fran Tarkenton — frequently asked
- Is Fran Tarkenton the GOAT?
- Not on the current data. Fran Tarkenton ranks 45th in American Football with a GOAT Score of 81.9, behind Tom Brady on 97.2.
- What is Fran Tarkenton's GOAT Score?
- 81.9 out of 100. It is the weighted sum of Dominance 78 (25%), Peak 84 (20%), Longevity 88 (20%), Honours 74 (20%), Statistics 88 (15%), computed from the verified career record.
- Where does Fran Tarkenton rank all time?
- 676th of 1063 eligible athletes in the cross-sport index, and 45th within American Football.
- Fran Tarkenton vs Eli Manning: who ranks higher?
- Eli Manning, on 83.3 against Fran Tarkenton's 81.9 — a margin of 1.4 points.