Would you trade your Hall of Fame career for one Super Bowl ring? It’s a hypothetical that gets both fans and Hall of Famers worked up. Dan Marino, who lost in his one Super Bowl appearance in 1985, declined. LaDainian Tomlinson never got to the big game. He’s on record saying he’d rather have a Super Bowl ring. Shannon Sharpe, a three-time Super Bowl winner and Hall of Fame tight end, prefers his gold blazer over his jewelry.
The math indicates that a Hall of Fame bust is the more exclusive honor; while approximately 2,000 players have won a Super Bowl, there are only 382 individuals enshrined in Canton. But the ring culture debate is never ending and even extends to the NFL.
For some all-time great wide receivers, their careers were hampered by bad teams, bad quarterbacks, and bad luck. From Randy Moss to Justin Jefferson, these are the 12 Best Wide Receivers Who Never Won a Super Bowl.
This story has been updated and was originally published in February 2015.
12.Andre Johnson
Years Active: 2003-2016
Teams Played For: Texans, Colts, Titans
Best Chance: 2012 Houston Texans (12-4, lost in AFC Divisional round)
Andre Johnson got the most out of the talent around him.
When Michael Irvin recently appeared on the All the Smoke podcast, he was asked to name his Mount Rushmore of wide receivers. Predictably, the Playmaker (who, by the way, has three Super Bowl rings) immediately cited himself and Jerry Rice. He then spit balled some names. “You start looking at a Megatron. You start looking at an Andre Johnson,” Irvin said. “When I’m in the Hall of Fame, I look around and I see Jerry Rice and I see his quarterback. I’m in there with my quarterback… I look at Andre Johnson and I’m like, Damn, how’d you get in the room? His quarterbacks ain’t coming. Andre Johnson got in this room and his quarterback’s nickname is the Pick Six.”
While longtime Houston Texans quarterback Matt Schaub wasn’t actually nicknamed “The Pick Six,” he did set the NFL record for throwing them. In 2013, he threw a pick six in four consecutive games! Schaub was also the best quarterback that the physically gifted Miami native played with during his 12-season tenure in Houston, edging out world beaters like Sage Rosenfels, David Carr, Case Keenum, and T.J. Yates. He ended his career with over 1000 receptions and 14,000 yards.
11.Tim Brown
Years Active: 1988-2004
Teams Played For: Raiders, Buccaneers
Best Chance: 2002 Oakland Raiders (11-5, lost in Super Bowl)
The Notre Dame product joined the Los Angeles Raiders just as the Silver and Black were hurtling towards their peak era of dysfunction. The franchised moved back and forth between Los Angeles and Oakland. Al Davis was at war with the league and sometimes his own players. It was a mess. Brown also played for a string of mediocre quarterbacks: Jay Schroeder, Steve Beuerlein, Todd Marinovich, Jeff Hostetler, and Jeff George.
Things stabilized a bit in the late 1990s with Jon Gruden at the helm and Rich Gannon lining up under center. And in 2002, Gannon, Brown, now 36, and the 40-year-old Jerry Rice led the Raiders to the Super Bowl, which they lost to Jon Gruden, who was now coaching the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Brown ranks 7th all time in receptions and receiving yards.
10.Steve Largent
Years Active: 1976-1989
Teams Played For: Seahawks
Best Chance: 1983 Seattle Seahawks (9-7, lost in AFC Championship Game)
As an original member of the expansion Seahawks, Largent languished on the Seattle startup for seven seasons. But then head coach Chuck Noll built a contender and in 1983 the Seahawks reached the AFC Championship before losing to the eventual Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Raiders. Seattle went 12-4 the following season, finishing fifth in the NFL in both total offense and total defense—their 63 takeaways remain a record for a 16-game season. But their season ended in Miami against Dan Marino. The Seahawks short window was closed and Largent never made another final four.
How much has the game evolved since Largent played? At the time of his retirement in 1989 he was the all-time career leader in receptions with 819. He’s now tied for 37th on the list with Tyreek Hill, who won his Super Bowl ring with the 2019 Kansas City Chiefs.
9.Ja'Marr Chase
Years Active: 2021-Present
Teams Played For: Bengals
Best Chance: 2021 Cincinnati Bengals (10-7, lost in Super Bowl)
Ja’Marr Chase stepped into a great situation when the Bengals drafted him 5th overall in the 2021 NFL Draft. Cincinnati already had an offensive head coach (Zac Taylor), a good number two receiver (Tee Higgins), and Chase’s LSU teammate Joe Burrow at quarterback. Chase would set the league on fire winning Offensive Rookie of the Year after catching 81 balls for 1455 yards and 13 touchdowns. The Bengals would then go on to shock the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game and make their first Super Bowl appearance since the 1988 season. But Matthew Stafford hit Cooper Kupp for the game-winning touchdown with less than two minutes, denying Chase (5 receptions, 89 yards) his ring.
In the years since that loss, Chase has continued to put video game numbers, including a ridiculous 2024 season where he led the NFL in receptions, yards, and touchdowns. But the Bengals porous defense and poor offensive line play (a recurring theme during the Joe Burrow era) sank the team once again.
8.Davante Adams
Years Active: 2014-Present
Teams Played For: Packers, Raiders, Jets, Rams
Best Chance: 2020 Green Bay Packers (13-3, lost in NFC Championship Game)
One of the best route runners in the history of the game, Davante Adams had the good fortune of catching balls from four-time MVP Aaron Rodgers during his time in Green Bay. They made the NFC Championship Game in four of their eight seasons together but couldn’t advance to the Super Bowl. He hasn’t been back to the playoffs since forcing a trade to the Oakland Raiders following the 2021.
The move out west and the downgrade from Rodgers to David Carr didn’t hamper Adams’ production. He logged back-to-back 100-catch with season with the Silver and Black before he was traded to the Jets. Now with the Los Angeles Rams, Adams is teamed with a top playcaller (Sean McVay) and a Super Bowl-winning quarterback (Matthew Stafford) and looks poised to make another run at a Super Bowl.
7.Justin Jefferson
Years Active: 2020-Present
Teams Played For: Vikings
Best Chance: 2024 Minnesota Vikings (14-3, lost in NFC Championship Game)
Justin Jefferson might end up breaking every record in the book. In his first five seasons in the NFL, he’s averaging 99 catches and over 1400 yards per year. How does he put up such numbers? Though he’s a tremendous athlete with elite hands, he’s not a freak like Randy Moss or even Ja’Marr Chase. Jefferson just seems able to create separation even when double covered and never tips off corners that the ball is coming his way.
Despite having Jefferson and an elite offensive mind like Kevin O’Connell, the Vikings haven’t won a playoff game since the 2019 season.
6.Sterling Sharpe
Years Active: 1988-1994
Teams Played For: Packers
Best Chance: 1994 Green Bay Packers (9-7, lost in NFC Divisional round)
Sterling Sharpe spent the first four seasons of his career catching balls from Don Majkowski, Randy Wright, Anthony Dillweg, Mike Tomczak, before a guy named Favre arrived in 1992. Then, in three seasons with the Gunslinger, Sharpe averaged 104 receptions 1284 yards and 14 touchdowns, outrageous numbers for that era.
The Packers made the playoffs and won a Wild Card game in both 1993 and 1994 and were on their way to perennial Super Bowl contender status. But Sharpe was forced to retire following the 1994 season with a neck injury. Favre would win his first MVP in 1995 and then led the Packers to a Super Bowl in the 1996 season. Sharpe would get his ring secondhand. After winning Super Bowl XXXII with the Denver Broncos, Shannon Sharpe gifted his Super Bowl ring (his second) to his big brother.
5.Cris Carter
Years Active: 1987-2002
Teams Played For: Eagles, Vikings, Dolphins
Best Chance: 1998 Minnesota Vikings (15-1, lost in NFC Championship Game)
Across 12 seasons with the Vikings, Cris Carter made the playoffs eight times and only finished with two losing seasons. Between the 1990s dual reign of Randall Cunningham and Daunte Culpepper, the Vikings went 4-8 in the playoffs, with the 1998 squad likely remembered as the best team to not make the Super Bowl.
The 15-1 Vikings were heavily favored entering the NFC Championship Game against the Atlanta Falcons and were ahead 27-20 with a little over two minutes remaining. But then Gary Anderson, who did not miss a kick the entire season (35-for-35 on field goals and 59-for-59 on extra points) boinked a 38-yard field goal off the upright. The Falcons then tied the game before winning it in overtime. Carter ranks sixth all time in receptions and fourth all-time in receiving touchdowns.
4.Terrell Owens
Years Active: 1996-2010
Teams Played For: 49ers, Eagles, Cowboys, Bills, Bengals
Best Chance: 2004 Philadelphia Eagles (13-3, lost in Super Bowl)
Terrell Owens might have been exempt from this list if Donovan McNabb didn’t throw three picks (and also lose his lunch) against Tom Brady and the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX. It’s a miracle Owens even suited up for the big game. Seven weeks prior to the Super Bowl he broke his fibula and tore a ligament in his right ankle. Still, he was out there in Jacksonville, with screws in his ankle and painkillers coursing through his system. He was the best player on the field, catching nine balls for 122 yards.
Owens was on perennial contenders during his years with the 49ers, Eagles, and Cowboys, but never made it back to the Super Bowl. His best shot at returning was with the 2007 Dallas Cowboys. But that season famously ended against the New York Giants in the divisional round and with Owens tearfully defending “his quarterback” Tony Romo in the post-game press conference.
3.Calvin Johnson
Years Active: 2007-2015
Teams Played For: Lions
Best Chance: 2014 Detroit Lions (11-5, lost in NFC Divisional round)
The man nicknamed Megatron was on his way towards eclipsing everyone but Jerry Rice on the wide receiver leader board when he suddenly retired in March 2016 via a public statement. He didn’t explain his decision. Eventually, he cited a few reasons: He was in chronic pain. He had lost his passion for the game. The Detroit Lions lack of success also informed his decision.
Johnson made the postseason just two times during his nine highly productive seasons with the Lions; the team went 7-9 during his final campaign. At the time of his retirement, he was the fastest receiver in NFL history to reach the 10K yard mark, and he still holds the record for single season receiving yards with 1,964 yards in 2012.
2.Larry Fitzgerald
Years Active: 2004-2020
Teams Played For: Cardinals
Best Chance: 2008 Arizona Cardinals (9-7, lost in Super Bowl)
No one on his list came closer to not qualifying for it than Larry Fitzgerald. The scene: Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa. About three minutes left in the fourth quarter. Steelers leading the Cardinals 20-16. 2nd and 10 at the Cards own 36-yard-line. Kurt Warner sets in a shotgun position. Fitzgerald lines up wide on his right. Warner takes a short drop and hits him on a short post route and Fitzgerald is off to the races for the go-ahead touchdown. At one point, he looked up at the Jumbotron to catch a glimpse of his handiwork. Santonio Holmes would then spoil the moment, one-upping Fitzgerald with one of the greatest catches in NFL history, a sideline-hugging double toe-tap grab with 35 seconds left that won the game for the Steelers. Ouch.
Fitzgerald would go on to end his career second all-time in receptions and receiving yards and seventh in receiving touchdowns. He played 17 seasons with the Cardinals but never came close again to nabbing that elusive Super Bowl ring.
1.Randy Moss
Years Active: 1998-2012
Teams Played For: Vikings, Raiders, Patriots, Titans, 49ers
Best Chance: 2007 New England Patriots (16-0, lost in Super Bowl)
With all apologies to Larry Fitzgerald, Megatron, Marvin Harrison, and all the rest, Randy Moss is the greatest wide receiver in NFL history not named Jerry Rice. There has never been a more explosive weapon than Moss a 6-foot-4 leaper with great hands who could run a 4.25 40-yard dash. Nobody could stretch the field like him. As a rookie, he caught 17 touchdowns and lined up across Cris Carter for the tragic 1998 Vikings.
Moss would get even closer with the 2007 New England Patriots. Fresh from a disappointing two-year stint with the Oakland Raiders, Moss’s revenge tour rewrote the history books: 98 receptions, 1,493 yards and a record 23 touchdowns that still stands. The Pats went 17-0 and appeared headed to a Super Bowl title after Moss put them ahead with a touchdown grab late in the fourth quarter. But Eli Manning then led the New York Giants on an improbable game-winning touchdown drive that ended the Pats perfect season and Moss’s best chance at a ring.