26 seasons across two leagues
Blanda was born September 17, 1927 in Youngwood, Pennsylvania. He played college football at Kentucky under Bear Bryant (1946-49) before being drafted by the Chicago Bears in the 12th round of the 1949 NFL Draft. He started 1 game as a Bears rookie and stayed with the team for 10 seasons (1949-58) — primarily as a backup QB and placekicker, including stints in the early-1950s where the Bears were the NFL’s defending champion.
He retired briefly in 1959, then signed with the Houston Oilers of the upstart AFL in 1960. He played seven seasons in Houston (1960-66), winning the 1961 AFL MVP and two AFL championships (1960, 1961). At age 39 in 1967, he was traded to the Oakland Raiders. He played his next nine seasons in Oakland (1967-75), the oldest portion of his career.
The age-48 swan song
Blanda’s last regular season was 1975 — at age 48 — where he made 13 of 18 field goals and 41 of 41 extra points. He played in three games for the Raiders that season, primarily as a holder and field-goal kicker. The Raiders reached the AFC Championship Game in January 1976; Blanda played in that game (a 16-10 loss to Pittsburgh) at exactly 48 years and 109 days old.
The Raiders cut him in training camp the following summer. He officially retired August 12, 1976. His final NFL career numbers: 26,920 passing yards, 236 passing touchdowns, 335 field goals made, 943 extra points made, 2,002 total points scored — the all-time NFL record at his retirement.
Modern longevity records
Behind Blanda (48), the next-oldest NFL players are: Morten Andersen (placekicker, retired at age 47 in 2007); Adam Vinatieri (placekicker, retired at age 47 in 2019); Brett Favre (quarterback, retired at age 41); Tom Brady (quarterback, retired at age 45 — the oldest non-kicker QB in modern league history). Steve DeBerg started a Falcons game in 1998 at age 44 — the oldest QB start since Blanda’s run.
Blanda’s 26 NFL seasons remained the longevity record until Vinatieri tied it in 2019 (Vinatieri also played 26 seasons but only 24 games at age 47 vs. Blanda’s full age-48 final season). Tom Brady’s 23 seasons is third all-time. Among current active players, no one is on track to match 26 — the modern injury and load-management environment makes a 25th season nearly impossible.
More in Physical Extremes
Heaviest NFL Player Ever: Aaron Gibson, 410 lbs Shaquille O'Neal Height: 7'1" and 325 lbs Shortest NBA Player Ever: Muggsy Bogues at 5'3" Shortest NFL Player Ever: Jack Shapiro at 5'1"Background facts cross-referenced with the Wikipedia article on George Blanda and Pro-Football-Reference / Basketball-Reference public records.