In
American football
American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...
, an
interception
In Ball game, ball-playing Competitive sport, competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for ...
(INT), also known as a pick, occurs when a
pass
Pass, PASS, The Pass or Passed may refer to:
Places
*Pass, County Meath, a townland in Ireland
*Pass, Poland, a village in Poland
*El Paso, Texas, a city which translates to "The Pass"
* Pass, an alternate term for a number of straits: see Li ...
intended for a player of the same team is caught by an opposition player, who then gains possession for their team. The
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
(NFL) did not begin keeping official records until the 1932 season and did not begin tracking interceptions until 1940. As a result of the
AFL–NFL merger
The AFL–NFL merger was the merger of the two major professional American football leagues in the United States at the time: the National Football League (NFL) and the American Football League (AFL). It paved the way for the combined league, wh ...
, league record books also recognize statistics from the
American Football League
The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, AFL–NFL merger, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Foot ...
(AFL), which operated from 1960 to 1969 before being absorbed into the NFL in 1970.
There have been 39 players who have recorded at least 50 interceptions.
Paul Krause
Paul James Krause (born February 19, 1942) is an American former professional football player who was a safety in the National Football League (NFL) for the Minnesota Vikings and the Washington Redskins. Gifted with a great frame, speed and ra ...
is the all-time leader, with 81 interceptions.
[ Due to rule changes and increasingly detailed offensive schemes, among other factors, the rate of interceptions has dropped considerably from 1971 (5.78%) to 2018 (2.37%).]free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...
Patrick Peterson
Patrick De'mon Peterson Jr. ( Johnson; born July 11, 1990) is an American former professional football cornerback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for thirteen seasons. He played college football for the LSU Tigers, where he wo ...
the active career leader at 36.
Players with at least 50 interceptions
Historical career interceptions leaders
See also
* List of NFL annual interceptions leaders
In American football, an interception (INT), also known as a pick, occurs when a Forward pass, pass intended for a player of the same team is caught by an opposition player, who then gains possession for their team. The National Football League ...
References
{{NFL records
Interceptions
In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team bu ...