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 ...

, scoring can be achieved via

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

(six points), a field goal (three points), a

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

(two points), or by

conversion Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''The Convert'', a 2023 film produced by Jump Film & Television and Brouhaha Entertainment * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * ...

try. After a touchdown is scored, a team will attempt a conversion try, often called the point after touchdown (PAT), for either one or two points. 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. In addition to the NFL scoring leaders, league record books recognize the scoring leaders of 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. For statistical purposes, a player is credited with points scored when they kick a field goal, cause a safety, convert a PAT, or score a touchdown. The single-season scoring record is held by

LaDainian Tomlinson LaDainian Tarshane Tomlinson (born June 23, 1979), nicknamed "LT", is an American former professional football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. After a successful college football career with the T ...

of the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

who, in , scored 186 points and broke the 46-year-old record held by Paul Hornung. Three players,

Gino Cappelletti Gino Raymond Michael Cappelletti (March 26, 1934 – May 12, 2022) was an American professional football player. He played college football for the Minnesota Golden Gophers and was an All-Star in the American Football League (AFL) for the Bos ...

, Don Hutson, and Stephen Gostkowski, have led the league a record five times each, all having done so in at least four consecutive seasons. Hutson however is the only one to have led in five consecutive seasons.

NFL annual scoring leaders

AFL annual scoring leaders

Most seasons leading the league

Notes

References

{{NFL records American Football League

Scoring SCORE may refer to: *SCORE (software), a music scorewriter program * SCORE (television), a weekend sports service of the defunct Financial News Network *SCORE! Educational Centers *SCORE International, an offroad racing organization *Sarawak Corrido ...

NFL annual scoring leaders

AFL annual scoring leaders

Most seasons leading the league

See also

Notes

References