What is Lamar Jackson’s IQ?
“Football IQ” is a coaching term. The only test number tied to his name is an unconfirmed, leaked Wonderlic.
No IQ test result for Lamar Jackson has ever been published, so any Lamar Jackson IQ score you see is not a measurement. What is documented is a 2016 Heisman Trophy, two NFL MVP awards (2019, 2023) and one reported, unconfirmed Wonderlic result from the 2018 draft; this site’s estimated IQ level is 90–110, a deliberately wide band.
Lamar Jackson’s estimated IQ
- Selected 32nd overall, the last pick of the first round, in the 2018 NFL draft, and named AP NFL MVP for 2019 (all 50 first-place votes) and for 2023 (49 of 50): a sustained record of high-level quarterbacking (Ravens 2025 media guide; Ravens.com, February 1, 2020; NFL.com).
- Won the Heisman Trophy as a Louisville sophomore in 2016, the youngest winner in the award’s history at 19 years, 337 days (Heisman Trust). He played three seasons there (2015–2017) and left after his junior year for the draft; no completed degree is documented, so his academic record adds little to the estimate.
- Directs the pre-snap process of a professional offense: in 2024 the Ravens expanded his freedom to change plays, protections and cadence at the line of scrimmage, at his own suggestion (ESPN, June 18, 2024). A documented workload, but football decision-making is not a test score.
- A reported Wonderlic score of 13 out of 50 from leaked 2018 draft coverage (Cleveland 19, March 29, 2018). The NFL has never published it, Sports Illustrated called the leaked set unconfirmed, and the test’s intended average is 20 (a 1984 table lists 24 for quarterbacks). It is the reason the band’s floor is 90 rather than higher.
Neither anchor is an IQ test: the 13 is an unconfirmed raw score on a 12-minute timed hiring screen, and sporting success barely constrains IQ, so the two point in different directions. The band is therefore wide (20 points) and sits close to the population average of 100; a narrower band would claim more than the evidence supports.
- Born
- January 7, 1997, Pompano Beach, Florida
- Education
- Boynton Beach (Florida) High School; University of Louisville, 2015–2017 (left after his junior season; no completed degree found)
- Field
- American football (quarterback): Baltimore Ravens, 2018–present
- Draft
- 2018 NFL draft, first round, 32nd overall, Baltimore Ravens
- Honors
- 2016 Heisman Trophy; two-time AP NFL MVP (2019, unanimous; 2023); three-time first-team All-Pro; four Pro Bowls
- Tests on record
- No IQ test; Wonderlic 13 of 50 reported from leaked 2018 draft coverage (unconfirmed, never published by the NFL)
- Status (October 9, 2026)
- Age 29; Baltimore Ravens quarterback, No. 8, ninth NFL season
- Published IQ result
- None
What an IQ of 90–110 actually means
Set the claim aside for a moment. If someone genuinely scored in this range, here is what that would represent.
| Score range | Classification | Share of people | What it indicates |
|---|---|---|---|
| 85 – 114 | Average | ~68% | The range most people fall into. |
| 115 – 129 | Above average | ~13.6% | Roughly one person in seven. |
| 130 – 144 | Gifted | ~2% | The threshold most high-IQ societies use. |
| Above 144 | Highly gifted | ~0.1% | Figures above this range are extrapolated from the curve rather than measured. |
Percentages are approximate and describe a normal distribution. The same number means different things on tests with different standard deviations.
Thirty questions gives you a measured position on this exact scale — your score, your percentile and the ability breakdown behind it.
Find out in 30 minutes →Who Lamar Jackson is
Lamar Demeatrice Jackson Jr. was born on January 7, 1997, in Pompano Beach, Florida, and played at Boynton Beach (Florida) High School. The Ravens’ 2025 media guide, citing 247Sports, calls him a four-star prospect, the nation’s No. 8 dual-threat quarterback and the No. 31 player in Florida; he was a Class 6A first-team All-State pick and won Palm Beach County’s Lou Groza High School Player of the Year honor.
At the University of Louisville he played 38 career games and broke or shared 42 school and seven ACC records (Ravens media guide). On December 10, 2016, as a sophomore, he won the Heisman Trophy at 19 years, 337 days, the youngest winner ever (Heisman Trust) and Louisville’s first (Wikipedia), alongside the Maxwell Award, Walter Camp Player of the Year and AP Player of the Year for 2016. He was ACC Player of the Year and ACC Offensive Player of the Year in both 2016 and 2017 and a Heisman finalist again in 2017. He was a junior when he announced on January 5, 2018 that he would enter the draft (NFL.com). No source we opened reports a completed degree: Wikipedia lists a communications major, citing an older Ravens bio, but the team’s 2025 media guide lists neither a major nor a degree.
The Ravens traded up with the Eagles to take him 32nd overall in the 2018 draft, on April 26, 2018 (NFL.com). In 2019 he led the NFL with 36 touchdown passes, set the single-season rushing record for a quarterback with 1,206 yards, and was named AP NFL MVP with all 50 first-place votes, only the second unanimous winner after Tom Brady in 2010 (Ravens.com, February 1, 2020). He won the award again for 2023 with 49 of 50 first-place votes (NFL.com). The team’s media guide lists three first-team All-Pro selections (2019, 2023, 2024) and four Pro Bowls.
As of October 2026, the Ravens’ roster page lists Jackson as the No. 8 quarterback, age 29, in his ninth season.
By Elora Mercer, Celebrity Research WriterFigures checked by Leon Falkner, Data & Research AnalystReviewed by Aarav Vardhan, Editor-in-Chief · Last reviewed August 2026
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Lamar Jackson: the documented record
The estimate above rests on this record. Every entry here is a matter of public fact, which is more than can be said for the number itself.
- 1997Born January 7 in Pompano Beach, Florida.
- 2015Begins at the University of Louisville as a true freshman and plays 12 games.
- 2016Wins the Heisman Trophy (announced December 10) at 19 years, 337 days, the youngest winner; also the Maxwell Award, Walter Camp Player of the Year and AP Player of the Year.
- 2017Named ACC Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year for the second straight season; Heisman finalist again.
- 2018Declares for the NFL draft on January 5; a Wonderlic score of 13 is reported from leaked results on March 29; the Ravens trade up to draft him 32nd overall on April 26.
- 2019Leads the NFL with 36 touchdown passes, rushes for a quarterback-record 1,206 yards and is named AP NFL MVP on all 50 first-place votes (announced February 1, 2020).
- 2022A league memo reported on January 5 removes the Wonderlic from the NFL’s pre-draft process.
- 2023Named AP NFL MVP for the second time, with 49 of 50 first-place votes.
- 2024Ravens expand his authority to change plays, protections and cadence at the line (ESPN, June 18); third first-team All-Pro selection.
- 2026As of October 2026, Jackson is on the Ravens’ roster in his ninth season.
Why no figure circulates
Following a claim back to its first appearance is the part almost nobody does — and it is what most people are actually asking.
Lamar Jackson’s IQ score has never been published: no school, team, league or examiner has released a Lamar Jackson IQ test result, and we found no interview in which he says he took one. The nearest thing to a test number in print is a Wonderlic score of 13 out of 50, reported when the 2018 draft class’s quarterback scores leaked. Cleveland 19 listed “Lamar Jackson: 13” on March 29, 2018; Sportsnaut the same day credited the figures to former NFL scout John Middlekauff’s podcast. Sports Illustrated’s Jacob Feldman called the leaked set “unconfirmed” on April 2, 2018. That makes it a relayed report, not a record (where celebrity IQ numbers come from).
What searchers call the NFL’s “QB IQ test” is the Wonderlic Personnel Test: 50 questions in 12 minutes, on which a score of 20 is intended to indicate average intelligence. It is a hiring screen with no publisher-endorsed IQ conversion, which is why this page does not convert the 13 into an IQ (how Wonderlic scores convert to IQ). The league does not publish individual results; a 1984 position table reproduced on Wikipedia lists 24 for quarterbacks (Wonderlic scores by job and NFL position). Pro Football Talk reported on January 5, 2022 that a league memo, obtained by the Associated Press’s Rob Maaddi, removed the test from the pre-draft process, and a 2009 study summarized on Wikipedia found that Wonderlic scores did not predict NFL performance.
Lamar Jackson’s football IQ is a separate thing, and the reputation is specific. ESPN’s Jamison Hensley reported on June 18, 2024 that the Ravens were increasing his freedom at the line of scrimmage by challenging him to change plays, protections and even his cadence before the snap, an expansion Jackson himself suggested; quarterbacks coach Tee Martin likened him to the “smart kid in the classroom” who cannot be left bored. Those describe decisions on a field, not a score, and researchers disagree on how far any single ability test predicts job performance (what a cognitive ability test score predicts at work). Sport-specific skill is also narrower than general ability (specific abilities versus g).
Lamar Jackson’s estimated IQ, 90–110, sits below Tom Brady’s 110–125 and Aaron Rodgers’s 115–130, both built on reported Wonderlic scores of 33 and 35, and overlaps Patrick Mahomes’s 93–108, another Wonderlic-based band. We do not use the 13 as an anchor the way those pages use 33 and 35, because its only origin is a relayed leak that nobody has confirmed; we read it as the reason the floor is 90 rather than 100, and the record as the reason the ceiling is 110. A 12-minute speeded test also carries a wide margin of error (IQ score margin of error), which is another reason to keep the band wide.
How we read a number →Wikidata Q24809702 is the American football player born January 7, 1997, not a namesake. Wikipedia: birth date and place, Louisville 2015–2017, the 2016 Heisman (Louisville’s first), the 2018 draft slot, MVP years, the Louisville “communications major” line (cited to an older Ravens bio), and an infobox Wonderlic of 13. The Wonderlic article gives the 50-question, 12-minute format, the intended average of 20, the 1984 position table (quarterback 24) and the 2009 finding that scores did not predict NFL performance.
Media guide: 32nd overall in 2018; AP MVP 2019 and 2023; three first-team All-Pro and four Pro Bowl selections; Heisman at 19 years, 337 days; 38 career games and 42 school records; Boynton Beach (FL) HS and its 247Sports rankings; no degree or major listed. Ravens.com 2019: all 50 votes, 36 touchdown passes, 1,206 rushing yards. Player page: No. 8, age 29, 9 years. Heisman Trust: announced December 10, 2016, sophomore, youngest winner. None reports an IQ test.
Goodbread: applied for early eligibility after his junior year, 2016 Heisman, 2017 finalist. Wesseling: Ravens traded up with the Eagles for the No. 32 pick. 2023 MVP: 493 points and 49 of 50 first-place votes. ESPN: junior quarterback at Louisville, Pompano Beach native, youngest Heisman winner at 19.
Source for the 2024 expansion of his line-of-scrimmage authority (changing plays, protections and cadence), his own suggestion of more audibles, and quarterbacks coach Tee Martin’s “smart kid in the classroom” remark. It reports no IQ test.
Both list “Lamar Jackson: 13” among leaked 2018 quarterback scores. Cleveland 19 names no source for the leak. Sportsnaut credits a post by Lee Benson that says former NFL scout John Middlekauff revealed the scores on his podcast, and adds that “in a vacuum, these scores might mean very little.”
Says the supposedly confidential 2018 quarterback scores leaked over the weekend, calls them “unconfirmed,” and notes that full results are never published; it does not name Jackson in its text.
PFT: a league memo obtained by Rob Maaddi of the Associated Press said the 50-question test would be eliminated from the pre-draft process. Defector: leaked Wonderlic scores are “one of the most predictable parts of the draft cycle” and the test is a 50-question, 12-minute assessment.
Repeats the 13 without naming an original source.
None appears in Wikipedia, Wikidata, the Ravens’ media guide or player page, NFL.com, ESPN, the Heisman Trust, or any page that prints the Wonderlic 13, and we found no interview in which Jackson says he took an IQ test. We also found no reliable report of a completed Louisville degree.
Bands used for comparison: Tom Brady 110–125 (Wonderlic-derived); Aaron Rodgers 115–130 (Wonderlic-derived); Patrick Mahomes 93–108 (Wonderlic-derived).
The sources behind our estimate
The figures that circulate for Lamar Jackson, what we were able to confirm, and where the two diverge.
Two kinds of number circulate. One is a Wonderlic score of 13 out of 50, reported in leaked draft coverage on March 29–30, 2018 (Cleveland 19 and Sportsnaut) and repeated since (Sportskeeda, April 18, 2024). The other is an IQ-style figure that a few pages derive from it with no test behind it; this page does not repeat those.
No published IQ test result exists for Lamar Jackson. We checked Wikipedia and Wikidata, the Ravens’ 2025 media guide and roster page, NFL.com, ESPN and the Heisman Trust: none reports an IQ test. The Wonderlic 13 appears in Cleveland 19 (March 29, 2018) and Sportsnaut (same day, crediting former NFL scout John Middlekauff’s podcast), and Sports Illustrated (April 2, 2018) described the leaked 2018 scores as unconfirmed; none shows a test record, and the NFL does not publish individual results. No published test result supports any IQ figure for him, and opinions about his intelligence are not test results.
There is no circulating IQ figure to plot, only a band. It is 20 points wide because the evidence is thin and pulls two ways: one reported hiring-test score that falls below the test’s intended average of 20, and an elite record in a sport that tells us little about general intelligence.
Want a number that does hold up? Every figure on this page is somebody’s claim. Take the 30-question test and get a percentile you can check rather than a figure you have to trust.
Lamar Jackson — frequently asked
What is Lamar Jackson’s IQ?
No IQ test result for Lamar Jackson has been published, so his IQ is unknown. From his documented record, which includes a 2016 Heisman Trophy, two NFL MVP awards (2019, 2023) and a first-round draft slot, this site’s estimate of his IQ level is 90–110, a deliberately wide band that is an inference, not a measurement.
Did Lamar Jackson take an IQ test?
No Lamar Jackson IQ test result has been published, and we found no interview in which he says he took one. The only test score in print is a Wonderlic result of 13 out of 50, reported from leaked 2018 draft coverage; the NFL does not publish those scores, and the Wonderlic is a 12-minute hiring screen, not an IQ test.
What was Lamar Jackson’s Wonderlic score?
A Wonderlic score of 13 out of 50 was reported on March 29, 2018, when quarterback results leaked before the draft; Sportsnaut credited former scout John Middlekauff’s podcast. Sports Illustrated called the leaked scores unconfirmed, the NFL never released them, and the test, sometimes called the NFL’s QB IQ test, is not an IQ test.
What is Lamar Jackson’s football IQ?
“Football IQ” is a coaching and fan term for reading defenses and making decisions around the snap, not a score. In 2024 the Ravens gave Jackson more authority to change plays, protections and cadence at the line, and quarterbacks coach Tee Martin likened him to the “smart kid in the classroom” (ESPN, June 18, 2024). That is praise for a skill, not an IQ test result.
Did Lamar Jackson graduate from college?
We found no reliable report that he completed a degree. He played at Louisville from 2015 to 2017, was a junior when he declared for the 2018 NFL draft on January 5, 2018, and the Ravens’ 2025 media guide lists no degree or major. Wikipedia says he majored in communications, citing an older team bio.
Is Lamar Jackson smart?
The record shows sustained excellence in a decision-heavy job: a 2016 Heisman Trophy, a first-round pick, two MVP awards and responsibility for pre-snap adjustments. Those are football accomplishments, not IQ measurements, so they support only a wide estimated range, 90–110, and neither flatter nor settle the question.
How does Lamar Jackson’s estimated IQ compare with Tom Brady’s and Aaron Rodgers’s?
This site’s band for Jackson, 90–110, sits below Tom Brady’s 110–125 and Aaron Rodgers’s 115–130 and overlaps Patrick Mahomes’s 93–108. The gaps follow the reported Wonderlic scores each band leans on (33 for Brady, 35 for Rodgers); Jackson’s 13 is an unconfirmed leak, so his band leans on his record and is wider.
Is Lamar Jackson still playing in 2026?
Yes. As of October 2026, Lamar Jackson, 29, is on the Baltimore Ravens’ roster as quarterback No. 8 in his ninth NFL season.
How does my IQ compare with Lamar Jackson?
You can find out in about fifteen minutes. The IQ Metrics assessment is 30 questions, scored on the same 100-mean scale used throughout this page, so your result and the estimate above are at least expressed in the same units — one measured, one inferred. Once you have a number, the leaderboard shows where it would sit, and how we score and norm it explains the benchmarking.
Where does this estimate come from?
From the documented record rather than a test — the method is named above and set out in full under how we read a number. Compare it against the other athletes profiles, starting with Magnus Carlsen.
- Take the 30-question IQ test — get a measured score and percentile of your own
- Average IQ by country — how the scale behaves across populations
- How IQ Metrics scores its assessment — the method behind our own number
- More on how IQ testing works — reliability, error and what a score can and cannot say
- More athletes profiles — same field, same method
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Photograph by Barcex, CC BY-SA 4.0. Background removed for the portrait above. · Photograph by All-Pro Reels (Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin, October 24, 2021), CC BY-SA 2.0. Background removed for the portrait above. · Photograph by All-Pro Reels (October 17, 2021), CC BY-SA 2.0. Background removed for the portrait above.
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