Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Who is the greatest statistical quarterback in NFL history, you ask? That distinction belongs to Peyton Manning, right? No doubt about it, right? That is what most people believe.

However, I have come up with a basic formula that proves that claim isn’t quite accurate. I found this out by applying this formula to the career statistics of every statistically elite quarterback in NFL history, current and past, which led me to a shocking conclusion.

What is the formula I used? Thanks for asking!

I divided every elite quarterback’s career statistics, compiled in games that they started, by their number of starts at quarterback. I then multiplied each of those numbers by 16 (the number of games per season). Using this formula, of dividing each quarterback’s career stats by total starts and multiplying by 16 games, gives us the clearest example of which quarterbacks truly are statistically the greatest of all-time.

This formula demonstrates each quarterback’s average NFL season over the course of their career. Thus, this shows us which quarterback has put together the best average season in NFL history (factoring out injury among other things).

The numbers showed me that the Green Bay Packers’ quarterback Aaron Rodgers is the greatest statistical quarterback in NFL history, according to the numbers. When it comes to statistics, the numbers truly cannot lie.

Disclaimer: I am not claiming that Rodgers is the greatest quarterback of all-time, although some think he’s on his way. I am not making that claim because this ranking doesn’t factor in wins, winning percentage, championships, awards, accomplishments, milestones, or anything else — strictly averaged statistics. However, using quantifiable numbers such as career averages gives us an definite answer as to which quarterback is the greatest statistical signal caller of all-time and it isn’t the Broncos’ Manning.

Keep in mind, this isn’t my opinion and I did not create these statistical results — I’m simply presenting them to the world.

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

When career starting statistics are averaged over a 16-game span it levels the playing field and gives the best indication as to which players have been, statistically, the best all-time. Career totals are interesting, but the longevity of a career and amassing stats over time doesn’t necessarily mean that a quarterback was better than one that played in fewer games. Likewise, a few great (even elite) seasons mixed with years of mediocre play doesn’t mean a quarterback was truly a great statistical quarterback overall.

This formula credits players with being consistently great each time they step on the field and none have been better than Rodgers in the history of the game. Therefore, injuries or time spent on the bench doesn’t negatively hurt a quarterback’s ranking — as it shouldn’t.

Players should only be judged by their production as a starter; that is what this ranking accomplishes and the results are fascinating.

On the following slides I’ve compared Rodgers’ career stats to former greats Dan Marino, Kurt Warner, Brett Favre, Joe Montana, Johnny Unitas, and Steve Young. I also compared his stats to current stars Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Andrew Luck, Tony Romo, and Manning. I know that it’s hard to compare statistics across eras of the NFL and the game has significantly changed, but Rodgers not only tops players from the past, he tops his peers, too.

You are definitely going to want to check out how Manning and Rodgers stack up statistically. Their head-to-head breakdown is on the following slides.

ATTN people interested in playoff statistics: At the end of this piece I’ve even compared Rodgers’ career playoff statistics to other great quarterbacks that are famous for their great postseason play. The results to those comparisons were the most shocking information that I found while compiling this research.

An interesting part about Rodgers’ career averages is that he has at least five more years of his absolute prime to work with to raise his overall statistics — which he very well may do. Of course, there is a risk that his play could diminish over the years, but like Brady and others have proved, quarterbacks can play at an extremely high level into their late-30’s in today’s NFL and I would image Rodgers will do the same.

Alright, onto the the head-to-head quarterback comparisons!