Passer rating is calculated using a player's passing attempts, completions, yards, touchdowns, and interceptions.
Since 1973, passer rating has been the official formula used by the NFL to determine its passing leader.
Other measurements, such as ESPN's total quarterback rating and Pro Football Focus grades have been produced to take account for non-passing contributions or mistakes made by passers.
Before the development of the passer rating, the NFL struggled with how to crown a passing leader.
With this in mind, in 1971, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle asked the league's statistical committee to develop a better system:[3] this committee was headed by Don Smith of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Seymour Siwoff of the Elias Sports Bureau, and NFL executive Don Weiss.
The NCAA passing efficiency formula is similar to that of the NFL passer rating, but does not impose limits on the four components.
In 2011, Sports Illustrated published an article by Kerry Byrne of Cold Hard Football Facts highlighting the importance of passer rating in determining a team's success.
[7] "Put most simply," the article states, "you cannot be a smart football analyst and dismiss passer rating.
In fact, it's impossible to look at the incredible correlation of victory to passer rating and then dismiss it.
Byrne made an expanded defense of the passer rating and its importance for the Pro Football Researchers Association in 2012.
[9] The passer rating equation does not take into account sacks, fumbles, or a quarterback's rushing production, although by definition it only measures passing statistics.
[10] Due to rule changes and improvement in quarterback play, the league-wide passer rating has increased by an average of 0.63 points per season since its introduction in 1973, from 61.7 that year to 93.6 in 2020, which makes passer rating a poor statistic for comparing quarterbacks from different seasons or eras.
The metric takes into account all of a quarterback's contribution to a game, including passing, rushing, sacks, penalties, touchdowns, and turnovers.
[12] Moreover, each play is weighted based on its "difficulty", the context of the game, and the strength of the opposing defense.
Part of this analysis involves assigning each player in the NFL, as well as the Power Four at the collegiate level, a grade that indicates their performance.
An example of this is a running back taking a carry through the correct hole and picking up three to four yards in a 1st and ten situation.
Meanwhile, a +2 represents an incredible performance on a play that shifts the dynamic of a game in favor of the player's team.
Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham's strip sack on Tom Brady in Super Bowl LII would have easily been a +2 rating.
[14] On the other hand, a −2 is a play that catastrophically hinders a team's chance of winning, such as a quarterback throwing a pick-six in the fourth quarter of a close game.
[17] Lamar Jackson, Ben Roethlisberger, and Peyton Manning are tied for the record for the most games with a perfect passer rating (4).
As of 2023, 78 NFL quarterbacks have completed a game with a perfect passer rating of 158.3, and seven have done so multiple times.