In American football, an interception (INT), also known as a pick, occurs when a 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 (NFL) did not begin keeping official records until the 1932 season and did not begin tracking interceptions until 1940. In addition to the NFL interception leaders, league record books recognize the interception leaders of the American Football League (AFL), which operated from 1960 to 1969 before being absorbed into the NFL in 1970.
The single-season interception record is held by Night Train Lane, who logged 14 interceptions in 1952 while playing for the Los Angeles Rams as a rookie. Prior to that, Dan Sandifer of the Washington Redskins and Spec Sanders of the New York Yanks jointly held the record, earning 13 interceptions in 1948 and 1950 respectively. The record for most seasons leading the league in interceptions is three. This was first achieved by Everson Walls, who led the league in interceptions in 1981, 1982, and again in 1985. Ed Reed was later able to match Walls by leading the league in 2004, 2008, and 2010. Bill Bradley became the first player to lead the league in interceptions in consecutive seasons (1971 and 1972), with Everson Walls being the only other player to do so (1981 and 1982). The most recent player to lead the league in interceptions is DaRon Bland who finished with 9 interceptions in the 2023 NFL season.
NFL annual interceptions leaders
Ed Reed is one of two players to led the league in interceptions a record three times (2004, 2008, and 2010). He also holds the record for most career interception return yardage.Don Hutson, a two-way player, co-led the league in interceptions in 1940. He also led the league in scoring and receiving touchdowns that same year.Dick Lynch led the league twice during the 1960s while playing for the New York Giants.Paul Krause, the career leader in interceptions, led the league in 1964.
Key
Symbol
Meaning
Leader
The player who recorded the most interceptions in the NFL
Ints
The total number of interceptions the player had
TDs
The number of interceptions returned for a touchdown by the player (pick-sixes)
GP
The number of games played by a player during the season
