Short answer: The highest Wonderlic score reported for an NFL player is a perfect 50 by Pat McInally, a Harvard receiver and punter drafted in 1975. Mike Mamula's 49 is second, followed by reported 48s from Kevin Curtis, Ben Watson, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Greg McElroy. The NFL never published these numbers; each reached the public through press reports, and the league stopped giving the test at the combine in 2022.
At a glance
| The test | Wonderlic Personnel Test: 50 multiple-choice questions in 12 minutes |
|---|---|
| Scoring | Number of correct answers; 20 is intended to indicate average ability |
| Highest reported NFL score | 50, Pat McInally (Harvard, drafted 1975) |
| Average quarterback score | 24, as reported by Fox Sports in 2011 |
| Official publication | None; scores were leaked or reported by the press |
| NFL combine use | Ended in 2022; individual teams may still give it |
| Link to NFL performance | None found for 762 players from the 2002–2004 combines (Lyons, Hoffman and Michel, 2009) |
How This Ranking Was Built
The NFL never released an official table of Wonderlic results. Every number below surfaced through a leak, a team source or a player's own account, and then appeared in print. A score qualifies for this list only if a named outlet reported it. Ties at 48 are ordered by draft year.
Two rules apply throughout. First, every score is attributed to the outlet that reported it, because none can be checked against an official record. Second, no score is converted into an IQ. The Wonderlic is a short, timed test of cognitive ability, and translating one leaked result into an IQ would add precision the data do not have.
The Ranking
| Rank | Player | Reported score (of 50) | Position · college · draft year | Reported by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pat McInally | 50 | Wide receiver and punter · Harvard · 1975 | CBS Sports (2020); Fox Sports (2011), which called him the only player believed to score a perfect 50 |
| 2 | Mike Mamula | 49 | Defensive end · Boston College · 1995 | CBS Sports (2020) |
| 3 | Kevin Curtis | 48 | Wide receiver · 2003 draft | CBS Sports (2020) |
| 3 | Ben Watson | 48 | Tight end · Georgia · 2004 | CBS Sports (2020) |
| 3 | Ryan Fitzpatrick | 48 | Quarterback · Harvard · 2005 | CBS Sports (2020); New York Jets team site (2016), calling it "the widely reported score" |
| 3 | Greg McElroy | 48 | Quarterback · Alabama · 2011 | Fort Worth Star-Telegram, relayed by Fox Sports and The Christian Science Monitor (2011) |
One discrepancy deserves a flag. McElroy's 48 was reported by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in February 2011. Fox Sports noted that two NFL scouts doubted the scores could be known so soon, but his father then confirmed the 48 to The Birmingham News. At least one compiled list on the web gives him 43. The contemporaneous reporting is the stronger record, so the table uses 48.
What the Wonderlic Measures
Eldon F. Wonderlic, then a graduate student at Northwestern University, created the test in 1936 as a measure of cognitive ability for employers. It has 50 multiple-choice questions, rising in difficulty, and a 12-minute limit. Most test takers run out of time. The score is simply the number answered correctly, and a 20 is meant to indicate average ability.
The design rewards speed as much as depth: a candidate has about 14 seconds per item. That is why a perfect score is so rare, and why scores bunch toward the middle.
Paul Brown brought the test to professional football in the late 1960s, and the Dallas Cowboys under Tom Landry used it in the 1970s to forecast player performance. It became a fixture of pre-draft evaluation. In 1984 the writer Paul Zimmerman published position averages ranging from 26 for offensive tackles, the highest, to 16 for halfbacks, the lowest. Fox Sports put the average quarterback at 24.
The Men at the Top
Pat McInally. A Harvard graduate, McInally punted for the Cincinnati Bengals from 1976 to 1985. He told Fox News in 2017 that he “didn't find out till years later that it hurt me in the draft.”
Mike Mamula. The Boston College defensive end was drafted in 1995 with a reported 49, one point short of perfect.
Ryan Fitzpatrick. The Harvard quarterback took the test at the 2005 combine. The New York Jets' team site reported that he finished in nine minutes, with three minutes to spare.
Ben Watson and Kevin Curtis. A Georgia tight end drafted in 2004 and a receiver drafted in 2003, both reported at 48 by CBS Sports.
Greg McElroy. The Alabama quarterback posted his reported 48 at the 2011 combine, a result his father confirmed to The Birmingham News.
Does a High Score Predict Success?
The best evidence says no. Brian Lyons, Brian Hoffman and John Michel studied 762 players from the 2002, 2003 and 2004 combines and published the results in Human Performance in 2009. Wonderlic scores were unrelated to later NFL performance, to draft position and to the number of games a player started.
Some of the most successful quarterbacks of the era scored in the ordinary range. The figures below were reported in 2011 and are shown for scale, not judgment: all three sit above the test's intended average of 20.
| Player | Reported score | Reported by |
|---|---|---|
| Aaron Rodgers | 35 | The Christian Science Monitor (2011) |
| Tom Brady | 33 | The Christian Science Monitor (2011) |
| Peyton Manning | 28 | The Christian Science Monitor (2011) |
The lesson matches broader research on aptitude tests. A short timed test captures one slice of ability under artificial conditions. Reading a defense in three seconds draws on knowledge, pattern memory and practice the Wonderlic does not sample. For how cognitive scores relate to work outside football, see IQ by profession.
Why the NFL Dropped It in 2022
On January 5, 2022, CBS Sports reported a league memo, obtained by the Associated Press, stating that the NFL planned to eliminate the Wonderlic for draft prospects. The league did not give it at the 2022 scouting combine. Troy Vincent, the NFL's executive vice president of football operations, called it an "outdated process," according to Sports Illustrated.
The test did not vanish. Individual teams remained free to give it, and at least seven 2022 quarterback prospects took it during the pre-draft process. That April, CBS Sports Radio host Andrew Fillipponi posted scores for seven prospects, and Sports Illustrated said it had confirmed them. The leak culture survived the policy change.
Kathy Kolbe, daughter of the test's founder, welcomed the league's decision, according to a 2022 report from the Fronteras Desk public-radio newsroom.
Why These Scores Are Not IQ Scores
Websites routinely convert Wonderlic results into IQ figures. This page does not, for three reasons. IQ scales are built on representative population samples, with a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15 (see what an IQ of 100 means); the Wonderlic is a workplace screening test with its own raw scale of 0 to 50. A 50-point ceiling cannot separate strong scorers from exceptional ones. And a leaked score from one sitting carries no confidence interval.
The same caution applies to other entrance exams; SAT to IQ explains what such conversions can and cannot show. For the honest limits of quick tests, read are online IQ tests accurate, and for every guide in one place, see IQ guides. To try a timed reasoning screener yourself, take the practice IQ test.
Frequently asked questions
Who has the highest Wonderlic score in NFL history?
Pat McInally, a Harvard receiver and punter drafted in 1975, is reported to have scored a perfect 50. CBS Sports listed the score in 2020, and Fox Sports wrote in 2011 that he was believed to be the only player to reach 50. The NFL never published official scores.
Is the Wonderlic still used at the NFL Combine?
No. The league stopped giving the Wonderlic at the scouting combine in 2022, after a January 2022 memo reported by the Associated Press. Individual teams may still administer it during their own pre-draft evaluations, and some did in 2022.
How many questions are on the Wonderlic test?
The classic Wonderlic Personnel Test has 50 multiple-choice questions and a 12-minute time limit. The score is the number of correct answers, and a score of 20 is intended to indicate average ability. Few people finish all 50 items in time.
What was Tom Brady's Wonderlic score?
The Christian Science Monitor reported in 2011 that Tom Brady scored 33, above the test's intended average of 20 and above the reported quarterback average of 24. Brady went on to win seven Super Bowls, a reminder that the test does not predict football success.
Does a high Wonderlic score predict NFL success?
Not in the best available study. Lyons, Hoffman and Michel (2009) examined 762 players from the 2002 to 2004 combines and found Wonderlic scores unrelated to NFL performance, draft position and games started.
Can a Wonderlic score be converted to an IQ?
Not reliably for an individual. The Wonderlic is a workplace screening test with its own 0-to-50 scale, it caps at 50, and a single leaked result carries no confidence interval. This page reports scores as raw numbers out of 50 and assigns no player an IQ.
Sources
- CBS Sports, The highest and lowest Wonderlic test scores ever recorded (Feb. 26, 2020) — McInally 50, Mamula 49, Curtis, Fitzpatrick and Watson 48; 50 questions in 12 minutes
- Fox Sports, Report: McElroy scores 48 on Wonderlic (Feb. 28, 2011) — McElroy 48 via the Fort Worth Star-Telegram; McInally the only perfect 50; quarterback average 24
- The Christian Science Monitor, Greg McElroy nearly aces Wonderlic test (Mar. 1, 2011) — McElroy 48; Rodgers 35, Brady 33, Peyton Manning 28; test format
- New York Jets, Jets combine bests: Ryan Fitzpatrick (Feb. 22, 2016) — Fitzpatrick's widely reported 48, finished in nine minutes at the 2005 combine
- CBS Sports, NFL pre-draft changes: Wonderlic test being dropped (Jan. 5, 2022) — League memo obtained by the Associated Press
- Sports Illustrated, Wonderlic scores for seven 2022 QB prospects (Apr. 25, 2022) — Not given at the 2022 combine; Troy Vincent quote; teams still used it; leaked scores
- KJZZ Fronteras Desk, Daughter of Wonderlic test founder is happy the NFL is dropping it — Kathy Kolbe's reaction; teams may still use the test
- Wikipedia: Wonderlic test — 1936 origin, 50 items in 12 minutes, average of 20, Paul Brown and Tom Landry, Zimmerman's 1984 position averages
- Topend Sports, Wonderlic Test — Summary of Lyons, Hoffman and Michel (2009), Human Performance 22(3)
- Fox News, #TBT: The only player to ever score a perfect 50 on the Wonderlic was a punter (Mar. 2, 2017) — McInally's perfect 50 and his account that it hurt him in the draft
Editorial standard: IQ figures for historical figures are retrospective estimates and are labeled as such; scores for living people appear only when the person disclosed them or a reputable outlet reported them. Corrections: contact the editors.
