GGOATRANK
🇺🇸
American Football · Running back · United States

Jim Brown

1957–1965 · Led the league in rushing eight times in nine seasons, then retired at 29.

Retired
Ranking model

100% titles, statistics, dominance, longevity and global competition depth.

Pure sporting data
80.0
Cultural & brand footprint 52/100 · total legacy 75.0
MVP awards
3
NFL championships
1
Rushing titles
8
Career rushing yards
12,312
Pro Bowls
9
Rushing touchdowns
106

Category profile

Dominance
93
Peak
95
Longevity
70
Honours
88
Statistics
94

Career timeline · Touchdowns per season

SeasonTouchdowns per seasonShare of career
1957942
19581527
19591329
19601257
19611408
1962996
19631863
19641446
19651544

Data sources

  • NFL
  • Pro Football Reference
  • Olympedia

Figures come from public records and are normalised per sport. See the methodology for category weights. Method

Why Jim Brown ranks #32 in American Football

Jim Brown ranks 32nd among American Football athletes on GOAT Rank and 598th of 1063 across every sport in the index. The published GOAT Score of 87.9 is the weighted result of five verified category scores: Dominance 93, Peak 95, Longevity 70, Honours 88, Statistics 94. 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 1957–1965 with 9 documented competitive seasons. The strongest single season in that series is 1963, which sets the Peak component at 95. Peak is the defining strength of the profile at 95 out of 100, and it carries 20% of the final score. The underlying career record includes mvp awards 3, nfl championships 1, rushing titles 8, career rushing yards 12312.

Immediately ahead sits Jason Witten on 82.8, a gap of -5.1 points. Directly behind is Terrell Owens on 83.8. 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.

Jim Brown GOAT Score explained

Dominance93/100 · weight 25%
Measures how far Brown stood above the field while competing. Scored 93/100 against the full American Football cohort.
Peak95/100 · weight 20%
Rates the best sustained stretch of the career, centred on 1963. Scored 95/100.
Longevity70/100 · weight 20%
Rewards staying at that level over time: 8 years of competition and 9 recorded seasons. Scored 70/100.
Honours88/100 · weight 20%
Counts documented titles, majors and awards in the verified record. Scored 88/100.
Statistics94/100 · weight 15%
Normalises the raw career numbers against everyone in the sport reporting the same metric. Scored 94/100.

Jim Brown — frequently asked

Is Jim Brown the GOAT?
Not on the current data. Jim Brown ranks 32nd in American Football with a GOAT Score of 87.9, behind Tom Brady on 97.2.
What is Jim Brown's GOAT Score?
87.9 out of 100. It is the weighted sum of Dominance 93 (25%), Peak 95 (20%), Longevity 70 (20%), Honours 88 (20%), Statistics 94 (15%), computed from the verified career record.
Where does Jim Brown rank all time?
598th of 1063 eligible athletes in the cross-sport index, and 32nd within American Football.
Jim Brown vs Jason Witten: who ranks higher?
Jim Brown, on 87.9 against Jason Witten's 82.8 — a margin of 5.1 points.
Compare with Brady