The Shocking Numbers Behind Notre Dame's NFL Quarterback Struggles

Notre Dame has had more players drafted than any other program in college football history and had its fair share of excellent NFL quarterbacks. You can't tell the history of the league without spending a good amount of time on Joe Montana and the San Francisco 49ers, and Joe Theismann was also a Super Bowl champion in Washington.

However, those Notre Dame stars played in the NFL decades ago and the recent history of Fighting Irish signal callers in the league isn't nearly as good. In fact, one rather important statistic would point to it being rather sad, actually.

Notre Dame Quarterback's Recent Struggles in NFL

Joe Montana throws a pass in a 1993 game — Oct 17, 1993; San Diego, CA, USA; FILE PHOTO; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Joe Montana (19) and Ricky Siglar (66) in action against San Diego Chargers defensive end Burt Grossman (92) at Jack Murphy Stadium. | Peter Brouillet-Imagn Images

Since Montana's Kansas City Chiefs beat the Houston Oilers (yes, Houston had a different football team before the Texans) in the Divisional Round of the 1993 NFL Playoffs, no former Notre Dame quarterback has started and won an NFL playoff game.

That's just the beginning, though. It's been more than a dozen years since a Notre Dame quarterback even started and won a regular season NFL game.

Brady Quinn led the Chiefs to a win over the Carolina Panthers in December of 2012, after completing 19 of 23 passes for 201 yards and two touchdowns. It was the only one of eight games that year that Quinn won as Kansas City's starting quarterback, and one of just four games he won in his 20 career NFL starts.

Notre Dame's Massive Losing Streak as Starting NFL Quarterbacks

Quinn would start four more games that season in Kansas City, with the Chiefs falling in each of them.

Former Notre Dame quarterbacks have made 24 starts in NFL regular-season games since, and by now you can probably guess that they've lost all 24 of those contests (per ESPN Stats & Info).

Notre Dame QBs have now lost 24 straight starts in the NFL...

- 4 by Brady Quinn
- 4 by Jimmy Clausen
- 15 by DeShone Kizer
- 1 by Ian Book

That is the longest losing streak by starting QBs from a particular college since 1950 (h/t @EliasSports). pic.twitter.com/NrLb4tKuqr
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) December 28, 2021

During that time, Quinn lost the four games to close the 2012 season before Jimmy Clausen lost four starts combined in 2014 and 2015. DeShone Kizer then did the majority of the work, losing all 15 of his NFL starts for the Cleveland Browns in 2017. Ian Book is the most recent former Notre Dame quarterback to start a game, losing as a New Orleans Saints starter in 2021 against the Miami Dolphins.

Could Riley Leonard End the Streak Soon?

Riley Leonard of the Indianapolis Colt — Aug 23, 2025; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Indianapolis Colts quarterback Riley Leonard (15) leaves the field after defeating the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium. | Grace Hollars-USAToday Network via Imagn Images

Riley Leonard spent just one season at Notre Dame, but made the most of it as he helped lead the Fighting Irish to last year's national championship game. Notre Dame lost that game, but Leonard saw his stock as an NFL prospect rise as he was selected in the sixth round of this past spring's NFL draft.

Leonard concluded an impressive preseason Saturday as he completed 15 of 20 passes, threw for 189 yards, and a touchdown in the Colts 41-14 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.

Leonard remains third on the Colts depth chart, but with the way starter Daniel Jones and former Colts first round draft pick Anthony Richardson have struggled in their careers, perhaps Leonard getting a chance to start this season isn't out of question.

And if he does, hopefully he can put an end to this unfortunate Notre Dame streak.