Who are the 30 greatest football players the United States has produced in its history? It’s something of a fool’s errand to compile such a list – what with trying to compare stars from different eras and even trying to assess the worth of those at fundamentally different positions. (Sorry, guards.)
After all, who doesn’t love the marquee-hogging quarterbacks, the most high-profile players in American team sports? They routinely get the lion’s share of the credit for their respective teams’ success and the inordinate amount of the blame for failure – and, far too often, neither is deserved. That’s because there are 21 other starters on a football team, to say nothing of the specialists and dozens of guys on the bench who nevertheless play critical roles.
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But we’ve accepted the mission, a group of USA TODAY Sports’ NFL experts compiling and voting on the players most worthy of recognition. All football players were eligible – even college stars like Archie Griffin, the only man to win multiple Heisman Trophies. (Sorry to the Tim Tebow apologists, but he was disqualified by being born in the Philippines … and would have been disqualified for performance reasons as a pro anyway had it come to that.) One other note: With this celebration of America’s top sports figures, we’re also recognizing the high schools that produced them.
In the end, our top 30 stars of the gridiron reserved most of their football heroics for the NFL – and, admittedly, the final list skews a bit quarterback heavy, the slingers taking up one-third of the spots. Sorry, not sorry – as there’s no more American a hero than the quarterback over the country’s past 250 years.
Without further ado, here is USA TODAY Sports’ 30 greatest United States-born football players in history – ranked from best to worst with the input of our panel:
1 / 29
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Highmark Stadium. Buffalo Bills. Opening in 2026.
(Shawn Dowd, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle)
1 / 29
Take a look at the home stadiums for all 32 NFL teams
Highmark Stadium. Buffalo Bills. Opening in 2026.
(Shawn Dowd, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle)
2 / 29
Take a look at the home stadiums for all 32 NFL teams
Allegiant Stadium. Las Vegas Raiders. Opened in 2020.
(Kirby Lee, USA TODAY Sports)
3 / 29
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SoFi Stadium. Los Angeles Chargers and Los Angeles Rams. Opened in 2020.
(Kirby Lee, USA TODAY Sports)
4 / 29
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Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Atlanta Falcons. Opened in 2017.
(Kirby Lee, USA TODAY Sports)
5 / 29
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U.S. Bank Stadium. Minnesota Vikings. Opened in 2016.
(Brace Hemmelgarn, USA TODAY Sports)
6 / 29
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Levi’s Stadium. San Francisco 49ers. Opened in 2014.
(Sergio Estrada, USA TODAY Sports)
7 / 29
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MetLife Stadium. New York Giants and New York Jets. Opened in 2010.
(Kirby Lee, USA TODAY Sports)
8 / 29
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AT&T Stadium. Dallas Cowboys. Opened in 2009.
(Jerome Miron, USA TODAY Sports)
9 / 29
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Lucas Oil Stadium. Indianapolis Colts. Opened in 2008.
(Aaron Doster, USA TODAY Sports)
10 / 29
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State Farm Stadium. Arizona Cardinals. Opened in 2006.
(Kirby Lee, USA TODAY Sports)
11 / 29
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Lincoln Financial Field. Philadelphia Eagles. Opened in 2003.
(Eric Hartline, USA TODAY Sports)
12 / 29
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Ford Field. Detroit Lions. Opened in 2002.
(Tim Fuller, USA TODAY Sports)
13 / 29
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NRG Stadium. Houston Texans. Opened in 2002.
(Kirby Lee, USA TODAY Sports)
14 / 29
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Gillette Stadium. New England Patriots. Opened in 2002.
(Mark J. Rebilas, USA TODAY Sports)
15 / 29
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Lumen Field. Seattle Seahawks. Opened in 2002.
(Kirby Lee, USA TODAY Sports)
16 / 29
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Empower Field at Mile High. Denver Broncos. Opened in 2001.
(Kirby Lee, USA TODAY Sports)
17 / 29
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Acrisure Stadium. Pittsburgh Steelers. Opened in 2001.
(Kirby Lee, USA TODAY Sports)
18 / 29
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Huntington Bank Field. Cleveland Browns. Opened in 1999.
(Kirby Lee, USA TODAY Sports)
19 / 29
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Nissan Stadium. Tennessee Titans. Opened in 1999.
(Christopher Hanewinckel, USA TODAY)
20 / 29
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M&T Bank Stadium. Baltimore Ravens. Opened in 1998.
(Kirby Lee, USA TODAY Sports)
21 / 29
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Raymond James Stadium. Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Opened in 1998.
(Aaron Doster, USA TODAY Sports)
22 / 29
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Northwest Stadium. Washington Football Team. Opened in 1997.
(Kareem Elgazzar, Cincinnati Enquirer)
23 / 29
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Bank of America Stadium. Carolina Panthers. Opened in 1996.
(Jim Dedmon, USA TODAY Sports)
24 / 29
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EverBank Stadium. Jacksonville Jaguars. Opened in 1995.
(Douglas DeFelice, USA TODAY Sports)
25 / 29
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Hard Rock Stadium. Miami Dolphins. Opened in 1987.
(Jasen Vinlove, USA TODAY Sports)
26 / 29
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Caesars Superdome. New Orleans Saints. Opened in 1975.
(Chuck Cook, USA TODAY Sports)
27 / 29
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Arrowhead Stadium. Kansas City Chiefs. Opened in 1972.
(Denny Medley, USA TODAY Sports)
28 / 29
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Lambeau Field. Green Bay Packers. Opened in 1957.
(Jeff Hanisch, USA TODAY Sports)
29 / 29
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Soldier Field. Chicago Bears. Opened in 1924.
(Matt Cashore, USA TODAY Sports)
About USA TODAY’s ‘250 for 250’ series
Now through July 4, USA TODAY Sports is releasing our
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