GGOATRANK
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American Football · Linebacker · United States

Ray Lewis

1996–2012 · Two Super Bowls 12 years apart and the defining defensive voice of his era.

Retired
Ranking model

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

Pure sporting data
82.4
Cultural & brand footprint 52/100 · total legacy 76.9
Super Bowl titles
2
Super Bowl MVP
1
Defensive Player of the Year
2
Pro Bowls
13
Career tackles
2,059
Interceptions
31

Category profile

Dominance
84
Peak
89
Longevity
88
Honours
86
Statistics
87

Career timeline · Touchdowns per season

SeasonTouchdowns per seasonShare of career
1996110
1997184
1998120
1999168
2000137
2001162
200244
2003161
2004146
200574
2006116
2007120
2008117
2009134
2010139
201195
201257

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 Ray Lewis ranks #17 in American Football

Ray Lewis ranks 17th among American Football athletes on GOAT Rank and 426th of 1063 across every sport in the index. The published GOAT Score of 86.6 is the weighted result of five verified category scores: Dominance 84, Peak 89, Longevity 88, Honours 86, Statistics 87. 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 1996–2012 with 17 documented competitive seasons. The strongest single season in that series is 1997, which sets the Peak component at 89. Peak is the defining strength of the profile at 89 out of 100, and it carries 20% of the final score. The underlying career record includes super bowl titles 2, super bowl mvp 1, defensive player of the year 2, pro bowls 13.

Immediately ahead sits Johnny Unitas on 87.2, a gap of 0.6 points. Directly behind is John Elway on 86.1. 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.

Ray Lewis GOAT Score explained

Dominance84/100 · weight 25%
Measures how far Lewis stood above the field while competing. Scored 84/100 against the full American Football cohort.
Peak89/100 · weight 20%
Rates the best sustained stretch of the career, centred on 1997. Scored 89/100.
Longevity88/100 · weight 20%
Rewards staying at that level over time: 16 years of competition and 17 recorded seasons. Scored 88/100.
Honours86/100 · weight 20%
Counts documented titles, majors and awards in the verified record. Scored 86/100.
Statistics87/100 · weight 15%
Normalises the raw career numbers against everyone in the sport reporting the same metric. Scored 87/100.

Ray Lewis — frequently asked

Is Ray Lewis the GOAT?
Not on the current data. Ray Lewis ranks 17th in American Football with a GOAT Score of 86.6, behind Tom Brady on 97.2.
What is Ray Lewis's GOAT Score?
86.6 out of 100. It is the weighted sum of Dominance 84 (25%), Peak 89 (20%), Longevity 88 (20%), Honours 86 (20%), Statistics 87 (15%), computed from the verified career record.
Where does Ray Lewis rank all time?
426th of 1063 eligible athletes in the cross-sport index, and 17th within American Football.
Ray Lewis vs Johnny Unitas: who ranks higher?
Johnny Unitas, on 87.2 against Ray Lewis's 86.6 — a margin of 0.6 points.
Compare with Brady