Since 1973, passer rating has been the official formula used by the NFL to determine its passing leader. Passer rating is sometimes colloquially referred to as “quarterback rating” or “QB rating”, however the statistic applies only to passing (not to other contributions by a quarterback) and applies to any player at any position who throws a forward pass, not just to quarterbacks.
The single-season passer rating record is held by Aaron Rodgers who had a rating of 122.5 in 2011 with the Green Bay Packers. Steve Young has led the NFL in passer rating a record six different times while Len Dawson achieved the same feat in the AFL.
NFL annual passer rating leaders
Key
Symbol
Meaning
Leader
The player who recorded the highest passer rating in the NFL
Rate
The passer rating of the player
GP
The number of games played by a player during the season