The Index · Legend

Steve YoungSan Francisco 49ers · #8

Quarterback · 6'2", 215 lb · Salt Lake City, Utah · Age 65

Steve Young threw for 33,124 yards and 232 touchdowns, won two NFL MVP awards and Super Bowl XXIX MVP with the 49ers, led the league in passer rating a record six times, and entered the Hall of Fame in 2005.

San Francisco 49ers roster More Quarterbacks

QuarterbackDrafted 1984 Supplemental Draft15-yr veteran

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Analysis by Beau Thoutt · Balladex · Updated Aug 20, 2026

★ Legendary

San Francisco 49ers · #8 · Quarterback

Steve Young

Season avg446 pass yds · 3 td · 4 int

Career avg33,124 pass yds · 232 td · 107 int

IMPACTBalladex Impact 64 — Solid starter tierINDEXSteve Young · San Francisco 49ersIMPACTBalladex Impact 64 — Solid starter tierINDEXSteve Young · San Francisco 49ers

Scouting report

Steve Young — the report card

Read his whole game at a glance, then dive into any skill. Grades are percentiles vs every active player at his position.

Quarterback · Solid starter · Impact 64

Steve Young threw for 33,124 yards and 232 touchdowns, won two NFL MVP awards and Super Bowl XXIX MVP with the 49ers, led the league in passer rating

Passing

Efficiency

C+

Scoring

Passing volume

Solid · offense

tap for the data ↓

C-

Efficiency

Average · offense

tap for the data ↓

C+

Scoring

Solid · offense

tap for the data ↓

Accuracy

Average · offense

tap for the data ↓

C+

Ball security

Solid · offense

tap for the data ↓

Act II

Where Steve Young stands

Live ladders from the Balladex models, and what he's chasing. Rankings recompute nightly from real production, accolades, and search demand.

The laddersmodel · recomputes nightly

✦ Balladex Consensus: Solid starter tier — a blend of Impact, production and résumé.

Futures & chases

—MVP odds

64Impact index

1864Star score

Career scoring average0.0 ppg

Seasons in the index0

Accolades on file6

3× Super Bowl · Super Bowl MVP

Stat explorer

Steve Young — every number, three levels deep

Headline → metric → the raw history behind it. Real career data; tracking-only metrics labeled.

Passing

446 YDS

drill in ↓

C-

Efficiency

60.9 RTG

drill in ↓

C+

Scoring

3 TD

drill in ↓

C+

Ball security

4 INT

drill in ↓

The engine

How the model sees Steve Young

Projection = recency-weighted per-season production, nudged along a position aging curve, banded by his year-to-year volatility. No black box — every number shows its work.

Projected 2000 modeled

1737

pass yds

247–3226

0–27

int

3–9

81.6

rating

64.1–99.1

games

4–14

Bands widen as confidence drops. Derived live from the real 15-season history below.

What moves the pass yds line vs last season

Last season 446 → projected 1737 pass yds

Baseline (recency-weighted)

+1671.8

Age curve

-381.2

Net vs last season+1290.6 pass yds

Everything it reads

📊

15 seasons of real box production

every game line, verified

real

⚖

Recency × games weight

recent, healthy years anchor the baseline

auto

📈

Year-over-year trend

his own trajectory, season to season

+dev

🕰

Position aging curve

age 65 — applied to the projection

curve

🏈

Role & usage context

target / carry share and snaps fold in

+ctx

🏥

Availability signal

games last 3: 15 / 15 / 3

health

The real history it trains onsource: Pro-Football-Reference / ESPN · verified

Steve Young career stats, season by season

Career stats by season
Season	G	Cmp%	Yds	TD	INT	Rate
1985	5	52.2	935	3	8	56.9
1986	14	53.7	2,282	8	13	65.5
1987	8	53.6	570	10	0	120.8
1988	11	53.5	680	3	3	72.2
1989	10	69.6	1,001	8	3	120.8
1990	6	61.3	427	2	0	92.6
1991	11	64.5	2,517	17	8	101.8
1992 MVP	16	66.7	3,465	25	7	107.0
1993	16	68.0	4,023	29	16	101.5
1994 SB MVP	16	70.3	3,969	35	10	112.8
1995	11	66.9	3,200	20	11	92.3
1996	12	67.7	2,410	14	6	97.2
1997	15	67.7	3,029	19	6	104.7
1998	15	62.3	4,170	36	12	101.1
1999	3	53.6	446	3	4	60.9
Career	169		33,124	232	107

Source: Pro-Football-Reference. Backtested against completed player-seasons in the index. The same engine powers the report-card percentiles and the DNA radar — one model, asked different questions. Illustrative.

Act III

The Lab

Every number, live and interactive. Real career data; models labeled.

Gold = award / milestone season · hover any bar. Real season totals.

Player DNA + compssimilarity model

Closest comps

Trevor Siemian 99%Joe Flacco 97%Riley Leonard 96%Tyrod Taylor 94%Brady Cook 94%Tanner McKee 93%

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Context

Are the San Francisco 49ers built to win?

Team projection rolled up from the roster + last-season baselines — and what it means for his role.

10–7proj record

85off index

75def index

+26net

74%playoff odds

74roster

Roster delta · what changed

Offense grades B+ (85), defense B- (75) by our position-percentile roster model. QB play indexes at 85, pass rush 72, coverage 78.

How his role moves

Projected 10–7 on a 17-game slate — modeled from the current roster's production percentiles, not a calibrated Vegas line. His snaps, target/carry share and usage move with roster health.

Balladex Impact

64 of 99

Solid starter tier.

Rarity

◆ Legendary

Rank #16 of 2316 in NFL.

Résumé

6 accolades

3× Super Bowl · Super Bowl MVP · 2× NFL MVP

Act IV

The Ballad of Steve Young

Birth to now — the making of a legend, narrated and scored.

1961-10-11

The beginning

Steve Young was a dual-threat left-hander who emerged from Joe Montana's shadow to win two MVP awards, a Super Bowl MVP, and retire as the NFL's highest-rated passer.

San Francisco 49ers

Turning pro

Drafted 1984 Supplemental Draft, Round 1 (#1 overall) as a Quarterback.

true

Traded from Tampa Bay to San Francisco in 1987 to back up Joe Montana.

Chapter

Won his first MVP in 1992 after finally taking over as the full-time starter.

Chapter

Threw a Super Bowl-record six touchdown passes in the Super Bowl XXIX victory.

▶

Young's story

The documentary, narrated

Highlights

▶ Steve Young: The Lefty QB GOAT Highlights! | NFL Legends ▶ "Say hi to your mom for me!" Best of Steve Young Mic'd Up ▶ Best QB Runs: Steve Young gets away again and again ▶ Joe Montana vs. Steve Young | 49ers Legends Face Off in Grudge Match

Off the court

Measurables

Height: 6'2"
Weight: 215 lb
Draft: 1984 Supplemental Draft, Round 1 (#1 overall)
Born: Salt Lake City, Utah
Age: 65
Jersey: #8

Off the Field

Young earned a law degree from BYU while playing in the NFL and later became a prominent broadcaster and private-equity investor. His foundation, Forever Young, has long supported children's charities.

The person

Cerebral, driven, and mobile, Young paired a lawyer's intellect with the toughness to absorb hits and the patience to wait years behind a legend.

EfficiencyLed the NFL in passer rating six times, more than any quarterback in history.

MobilityOne of the most dangerous running quarterbacks of his era, with over 4,200 career rushing yards.

PerseveranceSpent four seasons backing up Joe Montana before seizing the starting job in 1991.

Verified profiles & sources

Wikipedia Pro-Football-Reference NFL.com

FAQ

Steve Young — frequently asked

The questions people ask most about Steve Young, answered.

How many MVP awards did Steve Young win?

Young was named Associated Press NFL MVP twice, in 1992 and 1994.

Did Steve Young win a Super Bowl as a starter?

Yes. He led San Francisco to victory in Super Bowl XXIX after the 1994 season, throwing a record six touchdown passes and earning game MVP.

What made Steve Young statistically special?

He led the NFL in passer rating a record six times and retired as the highest-rated passer in league history at 96.8.

Steve Young career stats & accolades are real, and team projections and recent-game home/away splits are computed from real production. DNA ratings, grades, tonight's projection, ladders, live win probability and simulator outputs are Balladex model output. Not affiliated with the NBA.