Most Touchdowns in NFL History

Jerry Rice holds the NFL record for the most career touchdowns, with 208 scored over 20 seasons from 1985 to 2004. Almost all of them came through the air, and his total sits 33 ahead of second-place Emmitt Smith, a margin that captures Rice’s standing as the greatest receiver in football history.

The touchdown is the point of the game, and the career leaderboard for scoring them is one of the sport’s defining lists. A quick note on what it measures: this ranks touchdowns scored by rushing, receiving or returning the ball, not passing touchdowns thrown by quarterbacks, which is a separate record. Here is the full leaderboard of the NFL’s touchdown leaders, the careers behind the numbers, and why Rice’s mark stands so tall. All figures are as of the 2025 season.

The record holder: Jerry Rice and 208 touchdowns

Rice spent most of his career with the San Francisco 49ers, where his precise route-running and relentless work ethic made him the most productive pass-catcher the league has known. The overwhelming majority of his 208 touchdowns came on receptions, with a handful added on rushes, and he kept scoring into his 40s across a 20-year career.

The scale of the record is what secures it. At 33 touchdowns clear of the field, Rice’s total would require another player to combine elite scoring with two full decades of durability, a pairing that has not come close to repeating since he retired.

The full leaderboard of career touchdown leaders

The table below ranks the NFL’s all-time leaders in total touchdowns scored.

Rank	Touchdowns	Player	Career
1	208	Jerry Rice	1985-2004
2	175	Emmitt Smith	1990-2004
3	162	LaDainian Tomlinson	2001-2011
4	157	Randy Moss	1998-2012
5	156	Terrell Owens	1996-2010
6	145	Marcus Allen	1982-1997
7	136	Marshall Faulk	1994-2005
8	131	Cris Carter	1987-2002
9	128	Marvin Harrison	1996-2008
10	126	Jim Brown	1957-1965

The list is split between receivers like Randy Moss, Terrell Owens and Marvin Harrison and running backs like Emmitt Smith, LaDainian Tomlinson and Marshall Faulk. Jim Brown, tenth here, scored his 126 in just nine seasons, the highest per-season rate on the list.

Emmitt Smith and the running backs

Emmitt Smith, the NFL’s all-time leading rusher, sits second with 175 touchdowns, nearly all of them on the ground. He heads a group of running backs, including LaDainian Tomlinson and Marshall Faulk, whose scoring came from carrying the ball rather than catching it. Their presence shows how the record can be built from either side of the offense. Smith’s yardage exploits anchor our most rushing yards of all time leaderboard.

The receiving stars behind Rice

The rest of the top of the list is dominated by pass-catchers who followed Rice’s blueprint. Randy Moss and Terrell Owens both cleared 150 touchdowns almost entirely on receptions, while Marvin Harrison and Cris Carter added long, prolific careers. Their receiving totals feature on our most receiving yards of all time list, and the quarterbacks who threw to them lead our most passing yards of all time leaderboard.

Why the record matters

Total touchdowns measure the purest goal of offense, reaching the end zone, sustained across an entire career. Rice’s 208 reflect both historic production and rare longevity, the combination that makes the record so secure. The defenders trying to stop these scorers chase their own marks, charted on our most sacks in NFL history leaderboard.

The short version: Jerry Rice holds the NFL record for the most touchdowns with 208, well ahead of Emmitt Smith (175) and LaDainian Tomlinson (162). The list counts touchdowns scored, not passing touchdowns thrown. As of the 2025 season, no active player is close, and Rice’s record remains one of football’s safest.