GOAT Rank · 1370

Greatest Athletes from United States

This ranking is led by Michael Phelps, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Carl Lewis. GOAT Rank currently ranks 1370 eligible athletes from United States using verified career records across dominance, peak, longevity, honours and statistics.

Quick answer

According to GOAT Rank's current model, Michael Phelps ranks #1 on this list with a GOAT Score of 95.2.

How the GOAT Score is calculated →

#AthleteGOAT Score

1979

Mike Haynes

77.3

Sport: American Football
Career: 1976–1989
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Mike Haynes

1980

Arnie Herber

77.3

Sport: American Football
Career: 1930–1945
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 92.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Arnie Herber

1988

Honus Wagner

77.2

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1897–1917
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 90.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 90.0

Athlete: Honus Wagner

1989

Darrelle Revis

77.2

Sport: American Football
Career: 2007–2017
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 90.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Darrelle Revis

1991

Bobby Bell

77.2

Sport: American Football
Career: 1963–1974
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Bobby Bell

1992

R. Norris Williams

77.2

Sport: Tennis
Career: 1912–1926
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: R. Norris Williams

1993

Turkey Stearnes

77.2

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1923–1942
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 90.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Turkey Stearnes

1994

Jack Youngblood

77.2

Sport: American Football
Career: 1971–1984
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 90.0

Athlete: Jack Youngblood

1995

Jim Thome

77.2

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1991–2012
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 96.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 94.0

Athlete: Jim Thome

1996

O.J. Simpson

77.2

Sport: American Football
Career: 1969–1979
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 98.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 74.0

Athlete: O.J. Simpson

2000

Merlin Olsen

77.2

Sport: American Football
Career: 1962–1976
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Merlin Olsen

2001

Phil Housley

77.2

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1982–2003
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 96.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 94.0

Athlete: Phil Housley

2010

Walter Payton

77.1

Sport: American Football
Career: 1975–1987
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 87.0
Statistics: 91.0
Honours: 85.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Walter Payton

2011

Roger Clemens

77.1

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1984–2007
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 92.0

Athlete: Roger Clemens

2012

Don Hutson

77.1

Sport: American Football
Career: 1935–1945
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 92.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 72.0

Athlete: Don Hutson

2015

Damian Lillard

77.1

Sport: Basketball
Career: 2012–active
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 72.0
Longevity: 76.0

Athlete: Damian Lillard

2016

Dawn Staley

77.1

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1996–2006
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 82.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 78.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 76.0

Athlete: Dawn Staley

2020

Tom Glavine

77.1

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1987–2008
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 92.0

Athlete: Tom Glavine

2024

Dwight Freeney

77.1

Sport: American Football
Career: 2002–2017
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Dwight Freeney

2025

Jared Allen

77.1

Sport: American Football
Career: 2004–2015
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Jared Allen

2026

Jack Alexy

77.1

Sport: Swimming
Career: 2022–active
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 60.0

Athlete: Jack Alexy

2027

Buck Leonard

77.1

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1933–1950
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Buck Leonard

2028

Willie McCovey

77.1

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1959–1980
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 90.0

Athlete: Willie McCovey

2029

Julio Jones

77.1

Sport: American Football
Career: 2011–2022
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Julio Jones

2030

Paul Warfield

77.1

Sport: American Football
Career: 1964–1977
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Paul Warfield

2031

Hunter Armstrong

77.1

Sport: Swimming
Career: 2019–active
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 66.0

Athlete: Hunter Armstrong

2032

Trinity Rodman

77.1

Sport: Football
Career: 2021–active
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 80.0
Honours: 76.0
Longevity: 64.0

Athlete: Trinity Rodman

2034

Jack Kramer

77.1

Sport: Tennis
Career: 1940–1954
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 72.0

Athlete: Jack Kramer

2035

Tony Gwynn

77.1

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1982–2001
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Tony Gwynn

2037

Tom Mack

77.1

Sport: American Football
Career: 1966–1978
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 90.0

Athlete: Tom Mack

2038

Rickey Jackson

77.1

Sport: American Football
Career: 1981–1995
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Rickey Jackson

2039

Ollie Matson

77.1

Sport: American Football
Career: 1952–1966
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Ollie Matson

2041

Art Larsen

77.1

Sport: Tennis
Career: 1947–1956
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Art Larsen

2044

Rogers Hornsby

77.0

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1915–1937
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 95.0
Dominance: 90.0
Statistics: 96.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Rogers Hornsby

2045

Nolan Ryan

77.0

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1966–1993
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 96.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 96.0

Athlete: Nolan Ryan

2046

Bruce Smith

77.0

Sport: American Football
Career: 1985–2003
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 92.0

Athlete: Bruce Smith

2048

Jake LaMotta

77.0

Sport: Boxing
Career: 1941–1954
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 74.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Jake LaMotta

2050

Devin Hester

77.0

Sport: American Football
Career: 2006–2016
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 90.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Devin Hester

2052

Walter Jones

77.0

Sport: American Football
Career: 1997–2008
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Walter Jones

2053

Zack Greinke

77.0

Sport: Baseball
Career: 2004–2023
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 92.0

Athlete: Zack Greinke

2055

Curtis Martin

77.0

Sport: American Football
Career: 1995–2005
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Curtis Martin

2063

Bullet Rogan

76.9

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1917–1938
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 90.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Bullet Rogan

2065

Shaine Casas

76.9

Sport: Swimming
Career: 2018–active
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 74.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 72.0

Athlete: Shaine Casas

2069

Steve Carlton

76.9

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1965–1988
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 90.0

Athlete: Steve Carlton

2072

James Lofton

76.9

Sport: American Football
Career: 1978–1993
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 92.0

Athlete: James Lofton

2073

Paul Hornung

76.9

Sport: American Football
Career: 1957–1966
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 96.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 92.0
Longevity: 74.0

Athlete: Paul Hornung

2074

Dermontti Dawson

76.9

Sport: American Football
Career: 1988–2000
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Dermontti Dawson

2075

Larry Little

76.9

Sport: American Football
Career: 1967–1980
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 90.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Larry Little

2082

Greg Maddux

76.8

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1986–2008
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 92.0

Athlete: Greg Maddux

2083

Dan Marino

76.8

Sport: American Football
Career: 1983–1999
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 93.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Dan Marino

#	Athlete	Sport	Country	Career	GOAT Score
1979	Mike Haynes	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1976–1989	77.3
1980	Arnie Herber	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1930–1945	77.3
1988	Honus Wagner	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1897–1917	77.2
1989	Darrelle Revis	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	2007–2017	77.2
1991	Bobby Bell	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1963–1974	77.2
1992	R. Norris Williams	Tennis	🇺🇸 United States	1912–1926	77.2
1993	Turkey Stearnes	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1923–1942	77.2
1994	Jack Youngblood	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1971–1984	77.2
1995	Jim Thome	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1991–2012	77.2
1996	O.J. Simpson	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1969–1979	77.2
2000	Merlin Olsen	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1962–1976	77.2
2001	Phil Housley	Ice Hockey	🇺🇸 United States	1982–2003	77.2
2010	Walter Payton	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1975–1987	77.1
2011	Roger Clemens	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1984–2007	77.1
2012	Don Hutson	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1935–1945	77.1
2015	Damian Lillard	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	2012–active	77.1
2016	Dawn Staley	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1996–2006	77.1
2020	Tom Glavine	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1987–2008	77.1
2024	Dwight Freeney	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	2002–2017	77.1
2025	Jared Allen	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	2004–2015	77.1
2026	Jack Alexy	Swimming	🇺🇸 United States	2022–active	77.1
2027	Buck Leonard	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1933–1950	77.1
2028	Willie McCovey	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1959–1980	77.1
2029	Julio Jones	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	2011–2022	77.1
2030	Paul Warfield	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1964–1977	77.1
2031	Hunter Armstrong	Swimming	🇺🇸 United States	2019–active	77.1
2032	Trinity Rodman	Football	🇺🇸 United States	2021–active	77.1
2034	Jack Kramer	Tennis	🇺🇸 United States	1940–1954	77.1
2035	Tony Gwynn	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1982–2001	77.1
2037	Tom Mack	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1966–1978	77.1
2038	Rickey Jackson	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1981–1995	77.1
2039	Ollie Matson	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1952–1966	77.1
2041	Art Larsen	Tennis	🇺🇸 United States	1947–1956	77.1
2044	Rogers Hornsby	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1915–1937	77.0
2045	Nolan Ryan	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1966–1993	77.0
2046	Bruce Smith	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1985–2003	77.0
2048	Jake LaMotta	Boxing	🇺🇸 United States	1941–1954	77.0
2050	Devin Hester	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	2006–2016	77.0
2052	Walter Jones	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1997–2008	77.0
2053	Zack Greinke	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	2004–2023	77.0
2055	Curtis Martin	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1995–2005	77.0
2063	Bullet Rogan	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1917–1938	76.9
2065	Shaine Casas	Swimming	🇺🇸 United States	2018–active	76.9
2069	Steve Carlton	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1965–1988	76.9
2072	James Lofton	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1978–1993	76.9
2073	Paul Hornung	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1957–1966	76.9
2074	Dermontti Dawson	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1988–2000	76.9
2075	Larry Little	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1967–1980	76.9
2082	Greg Maddux	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1986–2008	76.8
2083	Dan Marino	American Football	🇺🇸 United States	1983–1999	76.8

Compare the leaders

Michael Phelps vs Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Read the full methodology

Sport lists use the raw In-Sport GOAT Score. Cross-sport lists use the official competition-depth adjustment. No scores are recalculated for this page.

Read the full methodology

Frequently asked questions

How is this ranking calculated?

Five verified components are weighted consistently: dominance, peak, longevity, honours and statistics.

Who is included?

According to GOAT Rank's current data model, only verified athletes with sufficient career history, metrics, honours and independent sources are eligible. Rank and score are read live.

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