Full lists of active, former players

Football, generally, is a young man’s game.

The average age of NFL starters is around 25 or 26 years old. The NFL roster that is the oldest on average is the Washington Commanders, and they’re an average of just over 28 years old as of roster cutdown day.

But there have been more than a handful of players who have beaten those odds, going on to play well into their fifth decade.

Two quarterbacks in their early forties will meet face-to-face on the Week 7 edition of “Thursday Night Football.” Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who will turn 42 in December, will face 40-year-old quarterback Joe Flacco and the Cincinnati Bengals.

Rodgers and Flacco both crack the top 10 of the oldest active players in 2025, and they’re two of the three oldest active players that don’t play exclusively on special teams. However, neither Flacco nor Rodgers makes the overall list of the oldest players in NFL history.

Here are the lists of the oldest players in NFL history and the oldest active players in the NFL in 2025:

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Oldest players in NFL history

The following players all played in at least one game in the NFL at their listed age.

• George Blanda, QB/K: 48 years old (last season: 1975)
• Morten Andersen, K: 47 years old (2007)
• Adam Vinatieri, K: 47 years old (2019)
• John Carney, K: 46 years old (2010)
• Tom Brady, QB: 45 years old (2022)
• Gary Anderson, K: 45 years old (2004)
• Ben Agajanian, K: 45 years old (1964)
• Bobby Marshall, End: 45 years old (1925)
• John Nesser, OL: 45 years old (1921)
• Vinny Testaverde, QB: 44 years old (2007)
• Matt Bryant, K: 44 years old (2019)
• Eddie Murray, K: 44 years old (2000)
• Steve DeBerg, QB: 44 years old (1998)
• Warren Moon, QB: 44 years old (2000)

AARON RODGERS: Matchup with Joe Flacco is ‘great for all the old guys’

Oldest active NFL players in 2025

• Aaron Rodgers, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers: 42 years old
• Nick Folk, K, New York Jets: 41 years old
• Matt Prater, K, Buffalo Bills: 41 years old
• Joe Flacco, QB, Cincinnati Bengals: 40 years old
• Matt Prater, K, Arizona Cardinals: 40 years old
• Calais Campbell, DL, Arizona Cardinals: 39 years old
• Morgan Cox, LS, Tennessee Titans: 39 years old
• J.J. Jansen, LS, Carolina Panthers: 39 years old
• Thomas Morstead, P, San Francisco 49ers: 39 years old
• Jon Weeks, LS, San Francisco 49ers: 39 years old