GGOATRANK

GOAT Rank · 3228

Greatest retired athletes

This ranking uses verified career records and GOAT Rank's published model. Every listed athlete clears the data eligibility threshold.

#AthleteGOAT Score
Sport
Tennis
Career
1907–1929
Country
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
Peak
86.0
Dominance
76.0
Statistics
84.0
Honours
80.0
Longevity
88.0
Athlete: Gordon Lowe
Sport
American Football
Career
1990–2004
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
88.0
Dominance
84.0
Statistics
90.0
Honours
86.0
Longevity
88.0
Athlete: Emmitt Smith
Sport
Baseball
Career
1928–1946
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
90.0
Dominance
86.0
Statistics
90.0
Honours
92.0
Longevity
88.0
Athlete: Bill Dickey
Sport
Athletics
Career
1980–1990
Country
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
Peak
90.0
Dominance
72.0
Statistics
86.0
Honours
78.0
Longevity
76.0
Athlete: Todd Bennett
Sport
American Football
Career
2005–2020
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
88.0
Dominance
80.0
Statistics
94.0
Honours
80.0
Longevity
96.0
Athlete: Frank Gore
Sport
American Football
Career
1946–1957
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
94.0
Dominance
84.0
Statistics
90.0
Honours
88.0
Longevity
80.0
Athlete: Elroy Hirsch
Sport
Ice Hockey
Career
1936–1948
Country
🇨🇦 Canada
Peak
93.0
Dominance
86.0
Statistics
88.0
Honours
90.0
Longevity
78.0
Athlete: Syl Apps
Sport
Ice Hockey
Career
1934–1947
Country
🇨🇦 Canada
Peak
93.0
Dominance
86.0
Statistics
88.0
Honours
90.0
Longevity
78.0
Athlete: Bill Cowley
Sport
Ice Hockey
Career
1980–2001
Country
🇨🇦 Canada
Peak
90.0
Dominance
82.0
Statistics
90.0
Honours
84.0
Longevity
90.0
Athlete: Paul Coffey
Sport
American Football
Career
1967–1980
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
90.0
Dominance
82.0
Statistics
90.0
Honours
86.0
Longevity
88.0
Athlete: Ken Houston
Sport
American Football
Career
1995–2009
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
92.0
Dominance
82.0
Statistics
90.0
Honours
88.0
Longevity
84.0
Athlete: Ty Law
Sport
American Football
Career
2010–2021
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
94.0
Dominance
86.0
Statistics
94.0
Honours
84.0
Longevity
78.0
Athlete: Antonio Brown
Sport
Baseball
Career
1986–2004
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
92.0
Dominance
84.0
Statistics
92.0
Honours
88.0
Longevity
90.0
Athlete: Barry Larkin
Sport
Tennis
Career
1895–1930
Country
🇦🇺 Australia
Peak
88.0
Dominance
72.0
Statistics
86.0
Honours
74.0
Longevity
94.0
Athlete: Horace Rice
Sport
Tennis
Career
1950–1963
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
94.0
Dominance
82.0
Statistics
80.0
Honours
84.0
Longevity
70.0
Athlete: Tony Trabert
Sport
American Football
Career
1973–1987
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
92.0
Dominance
84.0
Statistics
92.0
Honours
82.0
Longevity
86.0
Athlete: Dan Fouts
Sport
American Football
Career
1989–2005
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
92.0
Dominance
86.0
Statistics
88.0
Honours
86.0
Longevity
82.0
Athlete: Deion Sanders
Sport
Baseball
Career
1988–2007
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
90.0
Dominance
84.0
Statistics
94.0
Honours
84.0
Longevity
94.0
Athlete: Craig Biggio
Sport
American Football
Career
2003–2014
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
92.0
Dominance
86.0
Statistics
88.0
Honours
88.0
Longevity
80.0
Athlete: Troy Polamalu
Sport
Ice Hockey
Career
1973–1989
Country
🇨🇦 Canada
Peak
90.0
Dominance
82.0
Statistics
84.0
Honours
92.0
Longevity
86.0
Athlete: Bob Gainey
Sport
American Football
Career
1969–1983
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Peak
90.0
Dominance
82.0
Statistics
92.0
Honours
80.0
Longevity
92.0
Athlete: Ken Riley

Compare the leaders

Michael Phelps vs Bobby Moore

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?

Only verified athletes with sufficient career history, metrics, honours and independent sources are eligible.

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