Touchdowns are the heartbeat of American football. They electrify stadiums, swing momentum, and often decide careers. When fans ask, “Who leads the NFL in touchdowns?” there isn’t just one answer — because “touchdowns” can mean passing touchdowns, rushing touchdowns, receiving touchdowns, or total career scores across all positions.
This post breaks down the leaders in each major touchdown category so you can clearly understand who truly sits on top of the NFL’s scoring history.
🏈 Passing Touchdown Leaders: The Quarterbacks Who Dominate the Air Game
If you define touchdown leadership by passing touchdowns, the conversation starts — and comfortably stays — with Tom Brady. His 649 career passing touchdowns place him at the top of the NFL’s all-time list.
Right behind him are:
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Drew Brees – 571 passing touchdowns
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Peyton Manning – 539 passing touchdowns
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Aaron Rodgers – 523 passing touchdowns
Passing touchdowns are a quarterback’s signature stat. These numbers highlight how these leaders combined longevity, precision, high-powered offenses, and football IQ to dominate their eras.
🔥 Total Career Touchdown Leaders (All Positions Combined)
When you include every type of touchdown — rushing, receiving, fumble returns, kick returns, and more — the throne belongs to one man: Jerry Rice.
Jerry Rice: 208 total touchdowns
No player in NFL history has matched his combination of durability, route running, and consistent scoring across decades.
Trailing him on the all-time total touchdown leaderboard are:
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Emmitt Smith – 175 touchdowns
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LaDainian Tomlinson – 162 touchdowns
These players dominated in different ways — Smith as the NFL’s all-time rushing leader, and Tomlinson as a versatile dual-threat running back whose scoring efficiency was unmatched in his prime.
📈 Single-Season Touchdown Legends: Records That Still Turn Heads
While career totals show longevity, single-season touchdown performances reveal peak dominance.
LaDainian Tomlinson owns one of the most iconic seasons in NFL history, scoring 31 touchdowns in 2006. This remains one of the highest single-season touchdown counts ever recorded.
On the passing side, several quarterbacks have posted historic seasons with massive numbers of passing touchdowns, helping reshape how offenses operate and redefining what fans expect from elite QB play.
These record-breaking seasons serve as snapshots of pure football excellence — moments where everything clicked at the perfect time.
📊 Why the Answer Depends on What You Measure
When people ask, “Who leads the NFL in touchdowns?”, the correct response depends on what kind of touchdowns you mean:
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Passing touchdowns → Tom Brady
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Total career touchdowns (all positions) → Jerry Rice
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Single-season total touchdowns → LaDainian Tomlinson
Different positions contribute differently, which is why “touchdown leader” is a flexible title with multiple rightful holders.
🏟 How These Records Shape Today’s NFL Fan Experience
For modern NFL watchers — whether you’re streamed-in from home, tailgating with friends, or building the perfect fantasy lineup — these touchdown benchmarks provide valuable context.
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Up-and-coming quarterbacks are measured against the likes of Brady, Brees, and Manning.
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Star wide receivers chase Jerry Rice not in totals, but in style, dominance, and longevity.
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Versatile running backs model their games after Tomlinson’s dual-threat blueprint.
Touchdown records create a bridge between generations of fans, helping everyone appreciate the talent and evolution of America’s most-watched sport.
So, who leads the NFL in touchdowns?
There’s not just one leader — there are several, depending on the category:
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Tom Brady leads in passing touchdowns.
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Jerry Rice leads all players in total career touchdowns.
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LaDainian Tomlinson holds one of the most remarkable single-season touchdown totals in league history.
These legends defined eras, set benchmarks, and shaped the NFL into what it is today. And as new stars rise, the race for touchdown supremacy continues — one end-zone celebration at a time.