Sports Records That Will Never Be Broken & Some That Will

In sports, many famous examples of records will never be broken.

In the NFL, it’s Brett Favre’s 297 consecutive games played.

In the MLB, it’s Nolan Ryan’s 5,714 strikeouts and seven no-hitters.

In the NBA, it’s Bill Russell’s 24.7 rebounds per game.

While we marvel at these astonishing achievements, the most exciting prospect is the idea of those records or others breaking by the next generation of athletes.

These unbreakable records will exist for the foreseeable future. Still, there is also a handful that will fall in the coming season or next few years.

Here, we’ll examine both sides and examine records that’ll never be broken and some that could be broken this coming season in their respective sports.

NFL Records That Will Never Be Broken

All-Time Passing Yards - Tom Brady (84,520)

Brady’s record of 84,520 passing yards is No. 1, and he’s still playing at 45. When looking at the current crop of players that could break this record, the first player that comes to mind is Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

However, when you look more closely at his stats, it doesn’t seem likely, especially with, well, Brady still playing.

Mahomes has started for four seasons in the NFL, and during those years, he’s amassed 18,707 yards. He had 284 yards in his rookie season, starting a single game in the last week of the year, but we’re leaving that out for full-season projections.

With that 18,707 mark, the gunslinger has averaged nearly 4,677 passing yards per year. This is a fantastic personal mark, but for him to catch Brady, he’d need to play 19 years with, well, Brady not playing.

With Brady still playing in 2022, he’ll only add to his total. There could be a quarterback that enters the NFL soon that could be the ultimate passer. Still, this record will be unmatched by any active player due to Brady’s two-plus decade career and being an anomaly in that sense. In fact, he’s the only quarterback in NFL history to start at 45.

This incredible record will stand forever.

Most Interceptions - Brett Favre (336)

While Brett Favre had an incredible 20-year career, he’s really the only player who could ever get away with being the turnover machine he was.

While he had 336 all-time interceptions, he also had 508 touchdowns. The closest active player to the interceptions record is Brady with 203. Assuming this is Brady’s final year, call us crazy, but it seems highly unlikely he’ll throw 133 interceptions.

In today’s game, unless a player is a replica of Favre, they won’t be starting long enough even to come close to 100-200.

This is one of those sports records that you can look at and admire the style of player Favre was, achieving this incredible accomplishment while still being one of the best quarterbacks ever to live.

Consecutive Games Played - Brett Favre (297)

Once upon a time, this record was thought to be on track to be broken by New York Giants starting quarterback Eli Manning, but his streak ended at 210 in 2017.

Favre’s 297 consecutive starts is a record that is simply not meant to be broken. When you consider records, this one is one of the most impressive, especially considering the contact nature of football.

NFL Records That Will Be Broken

Single Season Passing Yards - Peyton Manning (5,477)

As for single-season NFL records, expect many of them to break sooner rather than later.

Reason being? There are now 17 regular season games. 

The 2021-22 season was the first with 17 games, and there are still records from the 16-game era that stood up against it.

However, with players acclimating to the new way of things, expect them to crumble.

The first of which is Manning’s single-season passing yards record of 5,477. 

Last season, the 44-year-old Brady came close with 5,316 yards. Manning’s record was set when he passed for one more yard than Drew Brees, who held it after the 2011 season. 

Unlike Manning with his 342-or-so yards per game, with the 17-game season, the new winner will need to average about 322 passing yards per game.

Who will break this? Turn your attention to Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen.

While mobile, Allen is an incredible passer of the football. Further, the running game for the Bills doesn’t even remotely match up to the passing attack.

No matter what online sportsbook you look at, the Bills and Allen rank atop the list for Super Bowl and MVP winners, respectively. 

This will come courtesy of the signal caller’s right arm. The Bills will almost certainly be one of the most pass-heavy teams in the NFL with wide receivers such as Stefon Diggs, Gabriel Davis, Jamison Crowder, and Isaiah McKenzie, with tight end Dawson Knox to boot. 

Single Season Pass Completions - Tom Brady (485)

After breaking the record by 14 last season, Brady’s 485 completions in a season are also in trouble because of the 17th game. 

Looking at the overall leaders in single-season pass completions, four of the top 25, including Brady, came from last season alone. 

When looking at who might break this record, you look for these criteria:

The player is on a team in a tough division because there will be more reasons to throw in those eight games.

He has great receiving options.

He has receivers with elite pass-catching running back for easy completions.

He has proven to be a quarterback to complete a lot of passes.

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert fits that bill with ease.

Playing the AFC West, each team — the Kansas City Chiefs, Denver Broncos, and Las Vegas Raiders — all have playoff aspirations. All of these games will present challenges and require Herbert to throw often in at least eight games. 

His receivers are excellent, headlined by Keenan Allen and Mike Williams. He also has an elite pass-catching running back with Austin Ekeler.

We mentioned four of the Top 25 single-season pass completion finishers played in 2021. Herbert has the No. 10 spot with 443 last season, and 500 isn’t out of the question for 2022-23. 

Single Season Pass Attempts - Matthew Stafford (727)

Believe it or not, Brady also comes close here, throwing 719 passes in 2021. Herbert also ranked highly with 672 last year. 

Of all the single-season passing records, this one is the most obvious to break in 2022 because of the extra game and the penchant for passing the ball in today’s NFL.

It’s pretty amazing that Stafford did that in 2012 and has held the record for over a decade.

As for who can break it, we’d point back to Herbert because of the prediction to break the completion record, but Brady is also a candidate. 

Most Defensive Rookie of the Year Awards By Team

According to Stat Muse, the Kansas City Chiefs, New York Jets, and San Francisco 49ers are all tied for first place in the number of Defensive Rookie of the Year awards.

Which team will break the tie in 2022?

The Chiefs and the Jets spent first-round picks on defensive players — edge rusher George Karlaftis (Chiefs) and Sauce Gardner (Jets).

Gardner is our pick. 

Drafted No. 4 overall, Gardner is a fantastic cornerback specializing in man coverage. 

According to DraftKings Sportsbook, Garder is tied for the fourth-best odds at +1000 to take home the award, with Aidan Hutchinson, Kayvon Thibodeaux, Travon Walker, and Kyle Hamilton ranked ahead of him.

One thing Gardner has going for him is that he plays in a division against the Super Bowl favorite Bills, where he’ll have two games in the regular season to show out against the elite competition. 

Suppose he can live up to his man coverage ability and either limit completions, create interceptions, or just eliminate quarterbacks from throwing to his side of the field. In that case, this will put him in good standing to win the award.

In such a pass-heavy league, having the ability to thwart this part of the game plays enormous dividends, which we think Gardner can live up to. 

NBA Records That Will Never Be Broken

Consecutive Titles - Boston Celtics (8)

While some may argue the NBA is a race between only a few teams each year, any team winning back-to-back championships is hard enough. That wasn’t the case a number of decades ago for the Boston Celtics.

From 1957 to 1966, the Boston Celtics won every championship, eight consecutive titles.

We talk about consecutive games played or even marvel at the Los Angeles Lakers three consecutive titles between 2000-2002, but eight? That’s just madness.

The Boston Celtics hold a record that could make any member of the sports world do a double-take to ensure they’re reading it correctly.

Rebounds Per Game - Bill Russell (24.87)

During the 1963-64 season, Boston Celtics big man Bill Russell averaged a mind-boggling 24.7 rebounds per game throughout one season.

However, this was far from a one-off. Over his career, Russell averaged more than 20 rebounds per game over an entire season 10 times.

To put this into perspective, in the modern game, Nikola Jokic led the league in rebounds per game with 13.8. That’s not even remotely close.

Yes, it was a different time, and he had the legendary coach Red Auerbach. Still, Russell continued his dominance on the boards even in his final two games, collecting 19 and 21 rebounds.

NBA Records That Will Be Broken

Career Points - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387)

Barring injury, LeBron James will break this record during the 2022-23 season. Heading into his 20th season, James is 1,325 career points back. 

Throughout his 19-year career, James has scored fewer points than that one time, and that was during the 2020-21 season he was shorted because of COVID-19. 

If you take his lowest season points per game total (20.9 in his rookie season), he’ll still be on pace to break this by the 64th game of the season.

Speaking of career point totals, if Carmelo Anthony plays in the NBA next year, he’ll surpass Shaquille O’Neal for eighth all-time when he scores his 308th point.

Anthony may not be the perennial All-Star he used to be, but if over 82 games he can average about 3.8 points, he’ll surpass Shaq. 

Most All-Star Selections - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (19)

While he won’t break this record completely, James’ 18 ties for second with Kobe Bryant.

After averaging more than 30 points per game across 56 games in 2021-22 and just his name recognition alone, James should make his 19th appearance and tie Abdul-Jabbar’s record.

Looking ahead to the following season, should James play, we can confidently say he’ll net his 20th selection and break the record. 

If so, he’ll surpass Abdul-Jabbar for two records in two seasons. 

MLB Records That Will Never Be Broken

Consecutive Games Played - Cal Ripken Jr. (2,632)

To think that at one time, a Major League Baseball player played in every game for 16 consecutive seasons — that’s completely unfathomable.

Well, Cal Ripken Jr. did it for the Baltimore Orioles from May 30, 1982, to September 19, 1998.

Do you know who the active leader in consecutive games played is right now?

Atlanta Braves first baseman Matt Olson with 272 games.

Are you kidding me? This is simply one of those sports records that feels like it’s not even real. It’ll be interesting to see those look back on MLB history 50 years from now and still admire this achievement.

Lastly, during that streak, Ripken Jr. never had a batting average of less than .250.

Most Career Strikeouts - Nolan Ryan (5,714)

Yet another MLB record that seems unfathomable.

While other sports have records that are equally as insane, Nolan Ryan throwing 5,714 strikeouts is a record that won’t even be remotely approached. Ryan also ranks atop the leaderboard in strikeouts in a single game with 19 on August 12, 1974, against the Boston Red Sox.

In second, behind him, is Randy Johnson will be about a thousand less.

In terms of current players, Max Scherzer and Justin Verland are just outside of 3,200 but are at or near 40 years old.

And oh yeah, Ryan also holds the record for the most no-hitters with seven.

You’d have to think that no-hitter record was helped out by Ryan’s ability to just absolutely dominate the strike zone.

Shockingly, Ryan never won a single Cy Young award.

Most Career Hits - Pete Rose (4,256)

While he may not be in the Hall of Fame he bet on baseball, Pete Rose was simply one of the greatest MLB players to ever live. As it stands, Pete Rose holds major league records for games played, at-bats, singles, and all-time hits.

Current player Albert Pujols ranks ninth but is about 1,000 back still, and 2022 is his final season.

Good luck ever breaking this record.

MLB Records That Will Be Broken

Most Strikeouts In A Season - Mark Reynolds (223)

Striking out is a part of baseball, but some guys take it to a new level. 

In addition to Reynolds’ 223 records in 2009, there have been 15 players to pass the 200 mark, all of which happened this century. 

In 2012, Adam Dunn came dangerously close to breaking this record, punching out 222 times. 

As this 2022 season winds down, the current leader is Seattle Mariners’ third baseman Eugenio Suarez, with 181 in 140 games. 

That means Suarez strikes out about 1.35 times per game, which projects to nearly 219 across the entire 162-game season.

If Suarez doesn’t break the record this year, he’s one of our top-two candidates to do so in 2023. 

The other contender for breaking this record is new Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Joey Gallo. 

Over his eight-year career, Gallo’s 162-game average is 226 strikeouts, which would result in him breaking the record.

Suarez and Gallo are two guys who love to swing for the fences. However, as we’ve seen over their careers, this can lead to striking out plenty of times.

Gallo has only played in 111 games this season but has 143 strikeouts. Projected over 162 games, it’s more than 205 strikeouts which shouldn't catch Suarez. But Gallo shows us year after year that he either hits home runs or strikes out — it’s just the way it is.