List of NFL annual scoring leaders

In American football, scoring can be achieved via touchdown (six points), a field goal (three points), a safety (two points), or by conversion try. After a touchdown is scored, a team will attempt a conversion try, often called the point after touchdown (PAT), for either one or two points.^[2] The National Football League (NFL) did not begin keeping official records until the 1932 season.^[3] In addition to the NFL scoring leaders, league record books recognize the scoring leaders of the American Football League (AFL), which operated from 1960 to 1969 before being absorbed into the NFL in 1970.^[4][5] For statistical purposes, a player is credited with points scored when they kick a field goal, cause a safety, convert a PAT, or score a touchdown.^[6]

LaDainian Tomlinson holds the single-season scoring record with 186 in 2006.^[1]

The single-season scoring record is held by LaDainian Tomlinson of the San Diego Chargers who, in 2006, scored 186 points and broke the 46-year-old record held by Paul Hornung.^[7][1] Three players, Gino Cappelletti, Don Hutson, and Stephen Gostkowski, have led the league a record five times each, all having done so in at least four consecutive seasons.^[8] Hutson however is the only one to have led in five consecutive seasons.^[9]

NFL annual scoring leaders

Don Hutson led the league in a record five consecutive seasons from 1940–1944. Hutson is also tied for the most seasons leading the league in points, with five.^[10][9]

Stephen Gostkowski led the league in scoring five times with the New England Patriots, tying the record for most seasons leading the league in points. Gostkowski is also tied with Gino Cappelletti for the second longest streak of consecutive seasons leading the league (four consecutive).^[8]

Adam Vinatieri is the all-time leader in points scored and led the league in points in 2004.^[11]

Paul Hornung set the single-season record in 1960 while playing for the Green Bay Packers, a record that stood for 46 years.^[7]

Marshall Faulk led the league in back-to-back seasons in 2000 and 2001.^[12]

Key

Symbol	Meaning
Leader	The player who recorded the most points in the NFL
Position	The player's designated position
Pts	The total number of points the player scored
GP	The number of games played by a player during the season[A]
†	Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame
^	Active player
*	Set the single-season scoring record
(#)	Denotes the number of times a player appears in this list

NFL annual scoring leaders by season

Season	Leader	Position	Pts	GP	Team	Refs
1932	Dutch Clark†	Tailback	55*	11	Portsmouth Spartans	[14][15]
1933	Glenn Presnell	Halfback	64*	11	Portsmouth Spartans	[14][16]
	Ken Strong†	Fullback		14	New York Giants	[14][17]
1934	Jack Manders	Halfback	76*	13	Chicago Bears	[14][18][19]
1935	Dutch Clark† (2)	Tailback	55	12	Detroit Lions	[14][15]
1936	Dutch Clark† (3)	Tailback	73	12	Detroit Lions	[14][15]
1937	Jack Manders (2)	Halfback	69	11	Chicago Bears	[14][18]
1938	Clarke Hinkle†	Fullback	58	11	Green Bay Packers	[14][20]
1939	Andy Farkas	Fullback	68	11	Washington Redskins	[14][21]
1940	Don Hutson†	End	57	11	Green Bay Packers	[14][22]
1941	Don Hutson† (2)	End	95*	11	Green Bay Packers	[14][22]
1942	Don Hutson† (3)	End	138*	11	Green Bay Packers	[14][23]
1943	Don Hutson† (4)	End	117	10	Green Bay Packers	[14][22]
1944	Don Hutson† (5)	End	85	10	Green Bay Packers	[14][22]
1945	Steve Van Buren†	Halfback	110	10	Philadelphia Eagles	[14][24]
1946	Ted Fritsch	Fullback	100	11	Green Bay Packers	[14][25]
1947	Pat Harder	Fullback	102	12	Chicago Cardinals	[14][26]
1948	Pat Harder (2)	Fullback	110	12	Chicago Cardinals	[14][26]
1949	Pat Harder (3)	Fullback	102	11	Chicago Cardinals	[14][26]
	Gene Roberts	Halfback		12	New York Giants	[14][27]
1950	Doak Walker†	Halfback	128	12	Detroit Lions	[14][28]
1951	Elroy Hirsch†	End	102	12	Los Angeles Rams	[14][29]
1952	Gordy Soltau	End	94	12	San Francisco 49ers	[14][30]
1953	Gordy Soltau (2)	End	114	12	San Francisco 49ers	[14][30]
1954	Bobby Walston	End	114	12	Philadelphia Eagles	[14][31]
1955	Doak Walker† (2)	Halfback	96	12	Detroit Lions	[14][28]
1956	Bobby Layne†	Quarterback	99	12	Detroit Lions	[14][32]
1957	Sam Baker	Kicker	77	12	Washington Redskins	[14][33]
	Lou Groza†	Tackle		12	Cleveland Browns	[14][34]
1958	Jim Brown†	Fullback	108	12	Cleveland Browns	[14][35]
1959	Paul Hornung†	Halfback	94	12	Green Bay Packers	[14][36]
1960	Paul Hornung† (2)	Halfback	176*	12	Green Bay Packers	[14][36]
1961	Paul Hornung† (3)	Halfback	146	12	Green Bay Packers	[14][36]
1962	Jim Taylor†	Fullback	114	14	Green Bay Packers	[14][37]
1963	Don Chandler	Punter	106	14	New York Giants	[14][38]
1964	Lenny Moore†	Halfback	120	14	Baltimore Colts	[14][39]
1965	Gale Sayers†	Halfback	132	14	Chicago Bears	[14][40]
1966	Bruce Gossett	Kicker	113	14	Los Angeles Rams	[14][41]
1967	Jim Bakken	Kicker	117	14	St. Louis Cardinals	[14][42]
1968	Leroy Kelly†	Running back	120	14	Cleveland Browns	[14][43]
1969	Fred Cox	Kicker	121	14	Minnesota Vikings	[14][44]
1970	Fred Cox (2)	Kicker	125	14	Minnesota Vikings	[14][44]
1971	Garo Yepremian	Kicker	117	14	Miami Dolphins	[14][45]
1972	Chester Marcol	Kicker	128	14	Green Bay Packers	[14][46]
1973	David Ray	Kicker	130	14	Los Angeles Rams	[14][47]
1974	Chester Marcol (2)	Kicker	94	14	Green Bay Packers	[14][46]
1975	O. J. Simpson†	Running back	138	14	Buffalo Bills	[14][48]
1976	Toni Linhart	Kicker	109	14	Baltimore Colts	[14][49]
1977	Errol Mann	Kicker	99	14	Oakland Raiders	[14][50]
1978	Frank Corral	Kicker	118	16	Los Angeles Rams	[14][51]
1979	John Smith	Kicker	115	16	New England Patriots	[14][52]
1980	John Smith (2)	Kicker	129	16	New England Patriots	[14][52]
1981	Eddie Murray	Kicker	121	16	Detroit Lions	[14][53]
	Rafael Septien	Kicker		16	Dallas Cowboys	[14][54]
1982	Marcus Allen†	Running back	84	9	Los Angeles Raiders	[14][55]
1983	Mark Moseley	Kicker	161	16	Washington Redskins	[14][56]
1984	Ray Wersching	Kicker	131	16	San Francisco 49ers	[14][57]
1985	Kevin Butler	Kicker	144	16	Chicago Bears	[14][58]
1986	Tony Franklin	Kicker	140	16	New England Patriots	[14][59]
1987	Jerry Rice†	Wide receiver	138	12	San Francisco 49ers	[14][60]
1988	Scott Norwood	Kicker	129	16	Buffalo Bills	[14][61]
1989	Mike Cofer	Kicker	136	16	San Francisco 49ers	[14][62]
1990	Nick Lowery	Kicker	139	16	Kansas City Chiefs	[14][63]
1991	Chip Lohmiller	Kicker	149	16	Washington Redskins	[14][64]
1992	Pete Stoyanovich	Kicker	124	16	Miami Dolphins	[14][65]
1993	Jeff Jaeger	Kicker	132	16	Los Angeles Raiders	[14][66]
1994	John Carney	Kicker	135	16	San Diego Chargers	[14][67]
1995	Emmitt Smith†	Running back	150	16	Dallas Cowboys	[14][68]
1996	John Kasay	Kicker	145	16	Carolina Panthers	[14][69]
1997	Mike Hollis	Kicker	134	16	Jacksonville Jaguars	[14][70]
1998	Gary Anderson	Kicker	164	16	Minnesota Vikings	[14][71]
1999	Mike Vanderjagt	Kicker	145	16	Indianapolis Colts	[14][72]
2000	Marshall Faulk†	Running back	160	14	St. Louis Rams	[14][73]
2001	Marshall Faulk† (2)	Running back	128	14	St. Louis Rams	[14][73]
2002	Priest Holmes	Running back	144	14	Kansas City Chiefs	[14][74]
2003	Jeff Wilkins	Kicker	163	16	St. Louis Rams	[14][75]
2004	Adam Vinatieri	Kicker	141	16	New England Patriots	[14][76]
2005	Shaun Alexander	Running back	168	16	Seattle Seahawks	[14][77]
2006	LaDainian Tomlinson†	Running back	186*	16	San Diego Chargers	[14][78]
2007	Mason Crosby	Kicker	141	16	Green Bay Packers	[14][79]
2008	Stephen Gostkowski	Kicker	148	16	New England Patriots	[14][80]
2009	Nate Kaeding	Kicker	146	16	San Diego Chargers	[14][81]
2010	David Akers	Kicker	143	16	Philadelphia Eagles	[14][82]
2011	David Akers (2)	Kicker	166	16	San Francisco 49ers	[14][82]
2012	Stephen Gostkowski (2)	Kicker	153	16	New England Patriots	[14][80]
2013	Stephen Gostkowski (3)	Kicker	158	16	New England Patriots	[14][80]
2014	Stephen Gostkowski (4)	Kicker	156	16	New England Patriots	[14][80]
2015	Stephen Gostkowski (5)	Kicker	151	16	New England Patriots	[14][80]
2016	Matt Bryant	Kicker	158	16	Atlanta Falcons	[14][83]
2017	Greg Zuerlein^	Kicker	158	14	Los Angeles Rams	[14][84]
2018	Kaʻimi Fairbairn^	Kicker	150	16	Houston Texans	[14][85]
2019	Harrison Butker^	Kicker	147	16	Kansas City Chiefs	[14][86]
2020	Daniel Carlson^	Kicker	144	16	Las Vegas Raiders	[14][87]
	Younghoe Koo^			15	Atlanta Falcons	[14][88]
	Jason Sanders^			16	Miami Dolphins	[14][89]
2021	Daniel Carlson^ (2)	Kicker	150	17	Las Vegas Raiders	[14][87]
	Nick Folk^			17	New England Patriots	[14][90]
2022	Jason Myers^	Kicker	143	17	Seattle Seahawks	[14][91]
2023	Brandon Aubrey^	Kicker	157	17	Dallas Cowboys	[14][92]
2024	Chris Boswell^	Kicker	158	17	Pittsburgh Steelers	[14][93]

AFL annual scoring leaders

Gino Cappelletti led the AFL in scoring five times.^[94]

Key

Symbol	Meaning
Player	The player who recorded the most points in the AFL
Position	The player's designated position
Pts	The total number of points the player scored
GP	The number of games played by a player during the season
†	Pro Football Hall of Fame member
*	Player set the single-season scoring record
(#)	Denotes the number of times a player appears in this list

AFL annual scoring leaders by season

Season	Player	Position	Pts	GP	Team	Refs
1960	Gene Mingo	Halfback	123*	14	Denver Broncos	[14][95]
1961	Gino Cappelletti	End	147*	14	Boston Patriots	[14][96]
1962	Gene Mingo (2)	Halfback	137	14	Denver Broncos	[14][95]
1963	Gino Cappelletti (2)	End	113	14	Boston Patriots	[14][96]
1964	Gino Cappelletti (3)	Flanker	155*	14	Boston Patriots	[14][96]
1965	Gino Cappelletti (4)	Flanker	132	14	Boston Patriots	[14][96]
1966	Gino Cappelletti (5)	Flanker	119	14	Boston Patriots	[14][96]
1967	George Blanda†	Quarterback	116	14	Oakland Raiders	[14][97]
1968	Jim Turner	Kicker	145	14	New York Jets	[14][98]
1969	Jim Turner (2)	Kicker	129	14	New York Jets	[14][98]

Most seasons leading the league

Count	Player	Seasons	Team(s)	Refs
5	Gino Cappelletti	1961, 1963–1966	Boston Patriots	[14][96]
	Stephen Gostkowski	2008, 2012–2015	New England Patriots	[14][80]
	Don Hutson	1940–1944	Green Bay Packers	[14][22]
3	Dutch Clark	1932, 1935, 1936	Portsmouth Spartans (2) / Detroit Lions (1)	[14][15]
	Pat Harder	1947–1949	Chicago Cardinals	[14][26]
	Paul Hornung	1959–1961	Green Bay Packers	[14][36]

See also

• List of NFL career scoring leaders
• List of NFL annual rushing touchdowns leaders
• List of NFL annual receiving touchdowns leaders

Notes

1. The NFL did not have a set number of games for teams to play until the 1935 season, instead setting a minimum.^[13]