List of National Football League annual sacks leaders

This is a list of National Football League (NFL) players who have led the regular season in sacks each year. Sacks became an official statistic in 1982 and sacks from years prior do not count towards a player's career total.[1] Michael Strahan of the New York Giants and T. J. Watt of the Pittsburgh Steelers hold the record with 22.5, which Strahan set during the 2001 season, and Watt matched during the 2021 season.[2] In 2013, the NFL created the Deacon Jones Award to recognize the annual leader in sacks.[3] There have only been two players who have led the league in sacks with 2 different teams, Jared Allen (2007 with the Chiefs and 2011 with the Vikings) and Kevin Greene (1994 with the Steelers and 1996 with the Panthers). The Chiefs and the Vikings have had the most players lead the NFL in sacks with 4. Eight players have led the NFL in sacks twice, and nobody has led the league three times.

Michael Strahan holding a microphone
T. J. Watt in Pittsburgh Steelers attire
Michael Strahan (left) and T. J. Watt (right) hold the single-season record for sacks with 22.5.
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NFL annual sacks leaders
Jared Allen in a Minnesota Vikings jersey and helmet
Jared Allen led the league in sacks in 2007 and 2011.
Al Baker headshot in a Detroit Lions jersey
Al Baker is the unofficial NFL record holder with 23 sacks during the 1978 NFL season.[2]
Deacon Jones headshot
The Deacon Jones Award, given annually to the player who leads the league in sacks, is named after Deacon Jones. Jones unofficially led the league the league in sacks 5 times.
Key
Symbol Meaning
Leader The player who recorded the most sacks in the NFL
Sacks The total number of sacks the player had
GP The number of games played by a player during the season
† Pro Football Hall of Fame member
^ The player is an active player
* Player set the single-season sacks record
(#) Denotes the number of times a player appears in this list

Table updated through the 2022 NFL season.

Note that the sack totals from 1960 to 1981 are considered unofficial by the NFL.[4]

NFL annual sacks leaders by season
Season Leader Sacks GP Team Ref.
1960 Gino Marchetti† 11.0* 12 Baltimore Colts [5][6]
1961 Gene Lipscomb 17.5* 14 Pittsburgh Steelers [5][7]
1962 Jim Katcavage 16.0 14 New York Giants [5][8]
1963 Jim Katcavage (2) 20.5* 14 New York Giants [5][8]
1964 Deacon Jones† 20.5* 14 Los Angeles Rams [5][9]
1965 Deacon Jones† (2) 19.0 14 Los Angeles Rams [5][9]
1966 George Andrie 18.5 14 Dallas Cowboys [5][10]
1967 Deacon Jones† (3) 21.5* 14 Los Angeles Rams [5][9]
1968 Deacon Jones† (4) 22.0* 14 Los Angeles Rams [5][9]
1969 Carl Eller† 15.0 14 Minnesota Vikings [5][11]
Deacon Jones† (5) Los Angeles Rams [5][9]
1970 Tony Cline 17.5 14 Oakland Raiders [5][12]
1971 Cedrick Hardman 18.0 14 San Francisco 49ers [5][13]
1972 Jack Gregory 18.5 14 New York Giants [5][14]
1973 Bill Stanfill 18.5 14 Miami Dolphins [5][15]
1974 Fred Dryer 15.0 14 Los Angeles Rams [5][16]
Jack Youngblood† [5][17]
1975 John Dutton 18.0 14 Baltimore Colts [5][18]
1976 Coy Bacon 21.5 14 Cincinnati Bengals [5][19]
1977 Harvey Martin 20.0 14 Dallas Cowboys [5][20]
1978 Al Baker 23.0* 16 Detroit Lions [5][21]
1979 Jack Youngblood† (2) 20.5 16 Los Angeles Rams [5][17]
1980 Al Baker (2) 17.5 15 Detroit Lions [5][21]
Gary Johnson San Diego Chargers [5][22]
1981 Joe Klecko† 20.5 16 New York Jets [5][23]
1982 Doug Martin 11.5 9 Minnesota Vikings [5][24]
1983 Mark Gastineau 19.0 16 New York Jets [5][25]
1984 Mark Gastineau (2) 22.0 16 New York Jets [5][25]
1985 Richard Dent† 17.0 16 Chicago Bears [5][26]
1986 Lawrence Taylor† 20.5 16 New York Giants [5][27]
1987 Reggie White† 21.0 12 Philadelphia Eagles [5][28]
1988 Reggie White† (2) 18.0 16 Philadelphia Eagles [5][28]
1989 Chris Doleman† 21.0 16 Minnesota Vikings [5][29]
1990 Derrick Thomas† 20.0 15 Kansas City Chiefs [5][30]
1991 Pat Swilling 17.0 16 New Orleans Saints [5][31]
1992 Clyde Simmons 19.0 16 Philadelphia Eagles [5][32]
1993 Neil Smith 15.0 16 Kansas City Chiefs [5][33]
1994 Kevin Greene† 14.0 16 Pittsburgh Steelers [5][34]
1995 Bryce Paup 17.5 15 Buffalo Bills [5][35]
1996 Kevin Greene† (2) 14.5 16 Carolina Panthers [5][34]
1997 John Randle† 15.5 16 Minnesota Vikings [5][36]
1998 Michael Sinclair 16.5 16 Seattle Seahawks [5][37]
1999 Kevin Carter 17.0 16 St. Louis Rams [5][38]
2000 La'Roi Glover 17.0 16 New Orleans Saints [5][39]
2001 Michael Strahan† 22.5 16 New York Giants [5][40]
2002 Jason Taylor† 18.5 16 Miami Dolphins [5][41]
2003 Michael Strahan† (2) 18.5 16 New York Giants [5][40]
2004 Dwight Freeney 16.0 16 Indianapolis Colts [5][42]
2005 Derrick Burgess 16.0 16 Oakland Raiders [5][43]
2006 Shawne Merriman 17.0 12 San Diego Chargers [5][44]
2007 Jared Allen 15.5 14 Kansas City Chiefs [5][45]
2008 DeMarcus Ware† 20.0 16 Dallas Cowboys [5][46]
2009 Elvis Dumervil 17.0 16 Denver Broncos [5][47]
2010 DeMarcus Ware† (2) 15.5 16 Dallas Cowboys [5][46]
2011 Jared Allen (2) 22.0 16 Minnesota Vikings [5][45]
2012 J. J. Watt 20.5 16 Houston Texans [5][48]
2013 Robert Mathis 19.5 16 Indianapolis Colts [5][49]
2014 Justin Houston^ 22.0 16 Kansas City Chiefs [5][50]
2015 J. J. Watt (2) 17.5 16 Houston Texans [5][48]
2016 Vic Beasley 15.5 16 Atlanta Falcons [5][51]
2017 Chandler Jones^ 17.0 16 Arizona Cardinals [5][52]
2018 Aaron Donald^ 20.5 16 Los Angeles Rams [5][53]
2019 Shaquil Barrett^ 19.5 16 Tampa Bay Buccaneers [5][54]
2020 T. J. Watt^ 15.0 15 Pittsburgh Steelers [5][55]
2021 T. J. Watt^ (2) 22.5 15 Pittsburgh Steelers [5][55]
2022 Nick Bosa^ 18.5 16 San Francisco 49ers [5][56]

AFL annual sacks leaders
Key
Symbol Meaning
Leader The player who recorded the most sacks in the AFL
Sacks The total number of sacks the player had
GP The number of games played by a player during the season
* Player set the single-season sacks record
(#) Denotes the number of times a player appears in this list
AFL annual sacks leaders by season
Season Leader Sacks GP Team Ref.
1960 Mel Branch 10.0* 14 Dallas Texans [5][57]
Riley Morris 12 Oakland Raiders [5][58]
1961 Ed Husmann 8.0 14 Houston Oilers [5][59]
Ron Nery San Diego Chargers [5][60]
1962 Ed Husmann (2) 10.0 14 Houston Oilers [5][59]
1963 Larry Eisenhauer 8.0 14 Boston Patriots [5][61]
1964 Tom Sestak 15.5* 14 Buffalo Bills [5][62]
1965 Larry Eisenhauer (2) 9.5 14 Boston Patriots [5][61]
1966 Verlon Biggs 12.5 14 New York Jets [5][63]
1967 Ike Lassiter 17.0* 14 Oakland Raiders [5][64]
1968 Gerry Philbin 14.0 14 New York Jets [5][65]
1969 Steve DeLong 15.5 14 San Diego Chargers [5][66]

See also

References
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