The following is a list of the players who fumbled the most times in NFL history. I’ve listed all the players who had at least 120 career fumbles in their careers.
As you will see from the list, all of the players are quarterbacks. At the end of the article I did another short list for the players who were not quarterbacks who fumbled the most times in NFL history.
Players with the Most Career Fumbles in NFL History
1. Brett Favre – 166
Brett Favre holds the NFL record for most career fumbles with 166. To be fair to Favre, he did play in 302 NFL games, which is the most ever by a quarterback, and is tied for the seventh most games played all-time. Brett Favre’s fumble ratio is .55, which is better than most of the quarterbacks on this list.
On the other hand, Brett Favre also threw 336 interceptions. That’s 502 turnovers in 302 games played, which averages out to 1.66 per game.
2. Warren Moon – 161
Warren Moon fumbled 161 times in his career, the second most fumbles in NFL history. Moon played in 208 games in his career, so he would have a fumble more than once every other game, on average. His fumble ratio per game is .774, which is the worst of any player in NFL history.
Warren Moon once threw for 527 yards in a game. That is the third most passing yards in a game in NFL history.
3. Dave Krieg – 153
Dave Krieg was another incredible turnover machine in his career. Krieg fumbled the ball 153 times in 213 games played. That is a fumble ratio of .71.
4. Kerry Collins – 139
Kerry Collins had 139 fumbles in his career in 197 games played. His fumble ratio (.706) is only slightly better than Dave Krieg’s. In 2001, Kerry Collins had 23 fumbles while playing for the New York Giants. That is tied for the most fumbles in a season by a player in NFL history.
5. John Elway – 137
John Elway fumbled the ball 137 times in 234 career games. I don’t really remember John Elway fumbling that much, and his fumble ratio per game (.56) is about the same as Brett Favre.
T-6. Boomer Esiason – 123
Boomer Esiason had 123 career fumbles in his career. Boomer played in 187 career games, so his fumble ratio was .66.
T-6. Drew Bledsoe – 123
Drew Bledsoe is tied with Boomer Esiason for the sixth most fumbles in NFL history with 123. Bledsoe played in 194 NFL games, so his fumble ratio was .63.
NFL Players with the Most Career Fumbles Who were Not Quarterbacks
T-1. Franco Harris – 90
Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Franco Harris fumbled 90 times in his NFL career, which is tied for the most by a player other than a quarterback. Franco Harris played in 173 games, so his fumble ratio was .52.
T-1. Tony Dorsett – 90
Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Tony Dorsett also fumbled 90 times in his career. Tony Dorsett also played in 173 career games, so his fumble ratio is the exact same as Franco Harris at .52.
