Namath vs Johnson
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Namath wins: Peak, Longevity, Honours
Johnson wins: Dominance, Statistics
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Showing full careers. Pick a window to recalculate the selected period.
Category radar
Verdict
Namath leads in 3 of 5 weighted categories. Guaranteed and delivered the Jets' Super Bowl III upset over the Colts.
Category breakdown
Season form · Touchdowns per season
Career timeline · Touchdowns 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 · Touchdowns per season| Ghost race · career day | 30 | 100 | 365 | 1000 | 1825 | 3650 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇺🇸 Namath | 0 | 0 | 45 | 107 | 373 | 649 |
| 🇺🇸 Johnson | 0 | 0 | 756 | 2,087 | 5,872 | 11,619 |
Careers are aligned at debut, so a rookie's first 5 seasons are measured against the same window in a legend's career — Yamal against Messi at the same age-stage, a tour rookie against Tiger Woods in 1996.
| Metric | NamathRetired | JohnsonRetired |
|---|---|---|
| Super Bowl titles | 1 | — |
| Super Bowl MVP awards | 1 | — |
| Passing yards | 27,663 | — |
| First 4,000-yard passing season | 1 | — |
| Pro Bowls | 5 | 6 |
| Single-season receiving yards | — | 1,964 |
| All-Pro First Teams | — | 3 |
| Receiving yards | — | 11,619 |
| Receiving touchdowns | — | 83 |
| 1,000-yard seasons | — | 6 |
| Dominance w25% | 78 | 82 |
| Peak w20% | 94 | 92 |
| Longevity w20% | 74 | 72 |
| Honours w20% | 84 | 78 |
| Statistics w15% | 84 | 90 |
Fan vote — data vs the people
What do you think?
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