This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.
The original was posted on /r/nfl by /u/JPAnalyst on 2024-06-28 14:21:00+00:00.
Here is a year-by-year list of the record holder for sacks through every number of years played up to 20 years. This data i used is the unofficial sack data going back to 1960 (more on that here). Al “Bubba” Baker not only has the unofficial rookie record of 23.0, but that’s also enough to eclipse the 22.5 by TJ Watt and Michael Strahan for the single-season record. Baker continued to lead for the most sacks through his first three seasons.
Through years 4-18 were all Reggie White and Deacon Jones. (Note Reggie White retired after 15 years but he continued to lead all players through 18 years. I wasn’t sure how to handle that in the table, but ultimately I decided to keep White on the table for those years as his number was above anyone else who played through 18 years.)
Bruce Smith, the all-time sack leader, never had the most sacks in history through any number of years until his final season.
Obligatory caveats
- 17-game seasons since 2021, 16-game seasons since 1978, 14-game seasons before that. (surprisingly no 17-game season players have cracked the list)
- This is straight up volume, and I’m not attmepting to make any era adjustments. Different eras have various rules, pace of play, and pass/run rates which is a factor when looking at historical numbers
- Official sack data goes back to 1982, but there is a lot of confidence in the unofficial data used here, which goes back to 1960