Who is better, Butkus or Janikowski?
Dick Butkus leads with a GOAT score of 83.6 against 83.6 for Sebastian Janikowski — a gap of 0.0 points on GOAT Rank's weighted model.
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Butkus vs Janikowski
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Quick answer
GOAT Rank currently scores Dick Butkus and Sebastian Janikowski level at 83.6. Dick Butkus leads on Dominance, Honours, Peak. Sebastian Janikowski leads on Longevity, Statistics.
How the GOAT Score is calculated →GOAT verdictgoatrank.world
ButkusWinner
83.6Butkus wins: Dominance, Peak, Honours
Janikowski
83.6Janikowski wins: Longevity, Statistics
Candidates
Locked to American FootballShareable URL · /compare/dick-butkus-vs-sebastian-janikowski
Time range
Showing full careers. Pick a window to recalculate the selected period.
Category radar
Verdict
Weighted GOAT score
🇺🇸 Dick Butkus
83.6
Butkus leads in 3 of 5 weighted categories.
1. Dick Butkus
2. Sebastian Janikowski
Category breakdown
Season form · Form index per season
Career timeline · Form index per season
Cumulative output season by season — the shape of each career against the other.
GOAT pace tracker
Career stage · GOAT pace
Through season 5 · Form index per season1. 🇵🇱 Sebastian Janikowski5 seasons played · career day 1,826119 touchdowns
Setting the pace at this stage
2. 🇺🇸 Dick Butkus5 seasons played · career day 1,82518 touchdowns
-84.9% vs Janikowski at the same stage
| Ghost race · career day | 30 | 100 | 365 | 1000 | 1825 | 3650 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇺🇸 Butkus | 0 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 18 | 26 |
| 🇵🇱 Janikowski | 0 | 0 | 22 | 45 | 97 | 209 |
Careers are aligned from debut; the first 5 season periods are measured against the same career window.
| Metric | ButkusRetired | JanikowskiRetired |
|---|---|---|
| Pro Bowls | 8 | 1 |
| All-Pro First Teams | 5 | — |
| Interceptions | 22 | — |
| Fumble recoveries | 27 | — |
| Defensive Player of the Year | 2 | — |
| Hall of Fame inductions | 1 | — |
| Career points | — | 1,913 |
| Field goals made | — | 436 |
| Longest field goal (yards) | — | 63 |
| Seasons played | — | 18 |
| Dominance w25% | 86 | 76 |
| Peak w20% | 92 | 88 |
| Longevity w20% | 72 | 92 |
| Honours w20% | 82 | 74 |
| Statistics w15% | 86 | 92 |
Fan vote — data vs the people
GOAT Rank · the data
Butkus83.6
Janikowski83.6
FAQ
Where does Janikowski beat Butkus?
Janikowski scores higher on statistics, longevity. Butkus leads on peak, dominance, honours.
How is the Butkus vs Janikowski score calculated?
Both are scored on peak, dominance, honours, statistics, longevity within their sport. Butkus: 83.6, Janikowski: 83.6.
What do you think?
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