The Oldest NFL Players in History
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This list is ranked by how old each player was in his final NFL season, oldest first, using Pro Football Reference and NFL records. Age is the only criterion — a Hall of Fame passer and a career backup sit wherever their birthday puts them, and we flag where a player was primarily a specialist versus taking full contact.
- Four-decade outlier
George Blanda
Blanda is the only man to appear in an NFL game at 48, and no one else on this list is within a full year of him. He debuted in 1949 and played his final game — the January 1976 AFC Championship, where he kicked a 41-yard field goal — at 48 years and 109 days, spanning four decades and 26 seasons, the most in league history.
What separates him from the pure kickers below is that he did both jobs. He quarterbacked and kicked, most famously during a five-game 1970 stretch of last-minute comebacks for the Raiders that won him that season's MVP-level honors at 43. He retired as the NFL's all-time leading scorer with 2,002 points and still holds the record for most career extra points.
Position: QB / Kicker · Final season: 1975 · Age: 48 · Feat: 26 seasons, 2,002 career points
- Hall of Fame kicker
Morten Andersen
Andersen played until 47 years and 133 days, closing out 2007 with the Falcons, and ranks second only because Blanda stretched a full year past him. The Danish-born kicker appeared in 382 games — the most of any player in NFL history when he retired — across 25 seasons.
He left the game as the league's all-time leading scorer with 2,544 points, a mark that stood until Vinatieri passed it. Andersen reached the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2017, one of only two pure kickers enshrined.
Position: Kicker · Final season: 2007 · Age: 47 · Feat: 382 games, Hall of Fame 2017
- All-time scoring leader
Adam Vinatieri
Vinatieri played his final game at 46 years and 338 days in the 2019 season with the Colts, then officially retired in 2021 at 48. He edges the kickers below him on both age and résumé: he is the NFL's all-time leading scorer with 2,673 points and made 599 field goals, breaking both records Andersen once held.
His reputation rests on the biggest kicks, not just the total. He won four Super Bowls and delivered game-winning field goals in two of them, including the long-range clutch attempts that defined the early-2000s Patriots dynasty.
Position: Kicker · Final season: 2019 · Age: 46 · Feat: 2,673 points, 4 Super Bowls
- Mid-season fireman
John Carney
Carney lands at 46 years and 173 days, a hair younger than Vinatieri, after a 2010 return to the Saints. His late career became a template for the emergency veteran kicker: teams signed him mid-season to steady an unreliable leg, and he kept converting into his mid-40s.
Over 23 seasons he scored more than 2,000 points, sitting among the top handful of scorers in league history. Unlike Vinatieri, he is remembered for consistency and availability rather than championship moments.
Position: Kicker · Final season: 2010 · Age: 46 · Feat: 23 seasons, 2,000-plus points
- Iron-legged veteran
Gary Anderson
Anderson finished at 45 years and 170 days with the 2004 Titans, capping 23 seasons. The South Africa-born kicker was the model of durability, scoring in a record number of consecutive games and retiring as one of the highest-scoring players ever.
His career carries one famous blemish that separates him from the others here: after a perfect regular season with the 1998 Vikings, he missed his only field goal of the year in the NFC Championship, a rare stumble in an otherwise metronomic career.
Position: Kicker · Final season: 2004 · Age: 45 · Note: Perfect 1998 regular season
- Oldest non-specialist
Tom Brady
Brady is the oldest player ever to take regular contact, playing his final game at 45 in January 2023 — every name above him was a kicker. That is what makes his placement remarkable: he ranks with the specialists while absorbing the hits a quarterback takes on every dropback.
He was still elite at the end, winning a Super Bowl at 43 and leading the league in passing yards and touchdowns at 44. He holds the record for most Super Bowl MVPs with five and was a three-time regular-season MVP, unmatched production for a player this deep into his 40s.
Position: Quarterback · Final season: 2022 · Age: 45 · Feat: 7 titles, 5 Super Bowl MVPs
- Un-retired backup
Steve DeBerg
DeBerg played at 44 in 1998 after coming out of a five-year retirement to back up an injury-hit Falcons roster. He briefly became the oldest quarterback to start and win a game, a curiosity built on longevity rather than stardom.
His whole career traces the journeyman arc: he repeatedly lost starting jobs to future stars — Joe Montana, John Elway and Steve Young among them — yet outlasted nearly all of them by simply being available deep into his 40s.
Position: Quarterback · Final season: 1998 · Age: 44 · Note: Un-retired to play at 44
- Emergency starter
Vinny Testaverde
Testaverde reached 44 in 2007 when the Panthers signed him off the street after injuries wiped out their depth, and he started immediately. He ranks alongside DeBerg on age but got there through 21 seasons of near-continuous play rather than a comeback.
The No. 1 overall pick in 1987, he threw for more than 46,000 career yards across seven franchises, a volume total that reflects how many teams valued a steady veteran arm well past 40.
Position: Quarterback · Final season: 2007 · Age: 44 · Feat: 46,000-plus career passing yards
- Hall of Fame passer
Warren Moon
Moon played his last season at 44 in 2000 with the Chiefs, and he is the most decorated quarterback in this age group. He reached nine Pro Bowls and entered the Hall of Fame in 2006, the first Black quarterback enshrined.
His NFL longevity is more striking given a late start: he spent his first six pro seasons in the CFL, winning five straight Grey Cups, before the NFL gave him a chance at 27. Counting both leagues, his high-level career ran even longer than the NFL number suggests.
Position: Quarterback · Final season: 2000 · Age: 44 · Feat: Hall of Fame 2006, 9 Pro Bowls
- Ironman punter
Jeff Feagles
Feagles closed his career at 43 in 2009 with the Giants, the lone punter in the top 10. His signature is availability: he never missed a game across 22 seasons and retired holding the record for most consecutive games played, 352.
Punting is the least physically punishing role on the field, which is why a specialist rounds out a list otherwise topped by kickers and durable quarterbacks. His per-game reliability, not any single highlight, kept him employed into his 40s.
Position: Punter · Final season: 2009 · Age: 43 · Feat: 352 straight games (record)
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- George Blanda
- Morten Andersen
- Adam Vinatieri
- John Carney
- Gary Anderson
- Tom Brady
- Steve DeBerg
- Vinny Testaverde
- Warren Moon
- Jeff Feagles
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How everyone ranked them
Built from reader rankings using position-based points.
The ranked cards above run oldest-first, from Blanda at 48 down to Feagles at 43. The sections below explain how the list was built, why specialists dominate it, and how longevity works differently across positions.
How we ranked the oldest NFL players
Placement is decided by one number: how old each player was during his final NFL season, oldest to youngest. We used Pro Football Reference and league records as the primary sources, and where a player’s exact age at his last game is documented — as with Blanda’s 48 years and 109 days — we used it to settle close calls.
Age is the only criterion. There is no adjustment for fame, position or production, which is why a career backup like Steve DeBerg sits above a Hall of Fame passer like Warren Moon: DeBerg was simply older in his final year. It also means the top of the list skews heavily toward one type of player.
Why specialists dominate the leaderboard
Seven of the ten oldest players were kickers or punters. Those positions are built on technique and leg strength rather than the explosive speed and collision durability that decline fastest with age, so a specialist can keep performing long after skill-position peers have retired. The scoring feats of these long-serving kickers also feed records like the longest field goal in NFL history.
The pattern is clearest at the very top. Blanda spent his final years primarily kicking; Andersen, Vinatieri, Carney and Anderson were pure kickers; Feagles never took a hit on the ball. Only the quarterbacks — Brady, DeBerg, Testaverde and Moon — reached this range while taking regular contact, and Brady is the sole non-specialist among the six oldest.
Age in the final season, at a glance
| Age | Player | Position | Final season |
|---|---|---|---|
| 48 | George Blanda | QB / Kicker | 1975 |
| 47 | Morten Andersen | Kicker | 2007 |
| 46 | Adam Vinatieri | Kicker | 2019 |
| 46 | John Carney | Kicker | 2010 |
| 45 | Gary Anderson | Kicker | 2004 |
| 45 | Tom Brady | Quarterback | 2022 |
| 44 | Steve DeBerg | Quarterback | 1998 |
| 44 | Vinny Testaverde | Quarterback | 2007 |
| 44 | Warren Moon | Quarterback | 2000 |
| 43 | Jeff Feagles | Punter | 2009 |
Ages reflect how old each player was during his final NFL campaign. Ties, such as the pair at 46 and the pair at 45, are separated in the cards above by exact days where the record allows.
What longevity requires
Playing into your 40s in the NFL takes a rare mix of position, conditioning and luck. The list shows how much the position dictates the ceiling: kickers and punters can extend a decade past the league-average career of just a few seasons, while quarterbacks need elite durability and a team’s continued faith. Longevity feeds career-volume records across the sport, from field-goal marks to rushing totals like the most rushing yards of all time.
The theme runs through every sport. Basketball’s version of the durability curve is charted in our leaderboard of the oldest NBA players in history, where, as in the NFL, the oldest names tend to be role players who adapted rather than athletes who relied on fading physical gifts.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the oldest NFL player of all time?+
George Blanda is the oldest player in NFL history. He appeared in his final game at 48 years and 109 days during the 1975 season, retiring in 1976 after 26 professional seasons as a quarterback and placekicker. No other player has appeared in an NFL game past 47. His four-decade career, spanning the 1940s through the 1970s, remains the benchmark for longevity in the sport.
Who is the oldest quarterback in NFL history?+
Tom Brady is the oldest true quarterback in NFL history, playing his final game at 45 in January 2023. George Blanda played until 48, but by then he was primarily a placekicker who quarterbacked only in emergencies. Brady is also the oldest non-specialist of any kind on this list, since every player older than him spent his late career as a kicker who avoids regular contact.
Why are the oldest NFL players usually kickers?+
Kickers and punters take almost no direct contact, so their careers can stretch a decade past most positions. The role depends on technique, timing and leg strength rather than the top-end speed and collision durability that fade fastest with age. Six of the ten oldest players — Andersen, Vinatieri, Carney, Anderson and others — were pure specialists, and punter Jeff Feagles played until 43 without ever taking a hit on the ball.
How old was Adam Vinatieri when he retired?+
Adam Vinatieri played his final NFL game at 46 during the 2019 season with the Indianapolis Colts, then officially announced his retirement in 2021 at age 48. He finished as the NFL's all-time leading scorer with 2,673 points and 599 field goals, and won four Super Bowls, two of them on his own last-second kicks. He is widely expected to reach the Hall of Fame.
Is George Blanda's age record likely to be broken?+
It is unlikely in the near term. Blanda played until 48, and the next-closest player, Morten Andersen, retired at 47 — both were dual-threat or specialist kickers whose roles allowed unusual longevity. Modern kickers occasionally play into their mid-40s, but reaching 48 would require a rare mix of health, technique and a team willing to keep a roster spot. No active player is currently close to that mark.
Who is the oldest position player (non-kicker, non-quarterback) in NFL history?+
Longevity past 40 for players outside quarterback and specialist roles is extremely rare because of the physical toll. A small number of offensive linemen, long snappers and the occasional skill player have reached their early 40s, but none approach the ages at the top of this list. The oldest players are dominated by kickers and punters precisely because running backs, receivers and defenders rarely last past their mid-30s.
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