What is Dan Marino’s IQ?
No IQ test result is on record. The record: 5,084 passing yards and 48 touchdowns in 1984, an NFL MVP season.
No IQ score has been published for Dan Marino as of November 2026. The only number linked to his name is a Wonderlic score, reported as 14, 15 or 16 out of 50, never with a test date or a source. Dan Marino’s IQ is unknown. What is documented is a 17-season career with the Miami Dolphins, 61,361 passing yards, 420 touchdown passes and election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2005.
Dan Marino’s estimated IQ
- Four years at quarterback for the University of Pittsburgh (1979–1982), then the 27th overall pick of the 1983 NFL draft by the Miami Dolphins, with five other quarterbacks taken before him (Pro Football Hall of Fame; Wikipedia).
- The 1984 NFL Most Valuable Player award, with single-season records of 5,084 passing yards and 48 touchdown passes, in a season the Dolphins finished 14–2 (Pro Football Hall of Fame).
- At retirement, more completions (4,967), passing yards (61,361) and touchdown passes (420) than any player in NFL history, and 47 career game-winning drives, which broke Johnny Unitas’s record of 38 (Pro Football Hall of Fame).
- Pro Football Hall of Fame, Class of 2005, with nine Pro Bowl selections and six All-Pro selections by the Associated Press (Pro Football Hall of Fame).
- A Wonderlic score reported as 14, 15 or 16 out of 50 by six different pages, none citing a test date or a source. It is treated as a weak, unverified signal that holds the floor of the range near 95.
This is an inference from a football record and one unverified test number, not a test result. On-field success shows skill, memory and decision-making in one job. It does not fix a position on an IQ scale, and no public school result, degree grade or adult IQ test exists to anchor the estimate. The reported Wonderlic, if it were accurate, would sit below the 20 or 21 that pages describe as an average score. But it is unsourced and comes from a 12-minute speeded hiring test, so the range is wide and its floor reaches into the 90s.
- Born
- September 15, 1961, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Education
- University of Pittsburgh (football, 1979–1982; honorary doctorate in broadcast journalism, 2005); Central Catholic High School, Pittsburgh, 1979
- NFL draft
- 1983, round 1, 27th overall, Miami Dolphins; five quarterbacks were taken before him
- NFL career
- Miami Dolphins, 1983–1999: 61,361 passing yards, 420 touchdown passes
- Honors
- 1984 NFL Most Valuable Player; nine Pro Bowls; Pro Football Hall of Fame, Class of 2005
- Role as of November 2026
- Special advisor, Miami Dolphins (since 2014), per Wikipedia
- Circulating figure
- A Wonderlic score reported as 14, 15 or 16 out of 50; no IQ test result
What an IQ of 95–115 actually means
Set the claim aside for a moment. If someone genuinely scored in this range, here is what that would represent.
Average is 100 by construction, and about two-thirds of people fall between 85 and 115. Take the test to place your own score on this scale.
| 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 Dan Marino is
Daniel Constantine Marino Jr. was born on September 15, 1961, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and graduated from Central Catholic High School there in 1979, according to Wikipedia. He played quarterback for the University of Pittsburgh Panthers from 1979 to 1982, was a first-team All-American in 1981 and finished his four college seasons with 8,597 passing yards and 79 touchdowns. Wikipedia also records an honorary doctorate in broadcast journalism from the university in 2005.
In the 1983 NFL draft the Miami Dolphins chose Marino 27th overall, in the first round. The Pro Football Hall of Fame says five other quarterbacks were taken before him, including future Hall of Famers John Elway (first) and Jim Kelly (14th); Wikipedia names the other three as Todd Blackledge, Tony Eason and Ken O’Brien, and calls Marino the last quarterback taken in that round.
As a rookie in 1983 he led the AFC in passer rating (96.0) and the Dolphins won the AFC East, per the Hall of Fame.
In 1984 Marino was named the league’s Most Valuable Player after setting single-season records of 5,084 passing yards and 48 touchdown passes. The previous record of 36 had been set by George Blanda in the AFL (1961) and Y. A. Tittle in the NFL (1963).
The Dolphins finished 14–2 and won the AFC Championship Game 45–28 over the Pittsburgh Steelers, with Marino throwing for 421 yards and four touchdowns, then lost Super Bowl XIX to the San Francisco 49ers, 38–16. He threw for 318 yards and completed 29 passes, then a Super Bowl record (Pro Football Hall of Fame).
Marino led the league in passing yards five times (1984–86, 1988 and 1992), was selected to nine Pro Bowls and was named an All-Pro by the Associated Press six times. His 47 career game-winning drives broke Johnny Unitas’s record of 38. His last season was 1999, when he threw for 2,448 yards in 11 games, and Wikipedia says he decided to retire before the 2000 season.
At retirement he had completed more passes (4,967) for more yards (61,361) and more touchdowns (420) than any player in NFL history. The Pro Football Hall of Fame lists him in its Class of 2005. As of November 2026, Wikipedia lists him as a special advisor to the Miami Dolphins, a role that began in 2014. For more athletes whose circulating numbers have been audited, see other athletes we have checked.
By Elora Mercer, Celebrity Research WriterFigures checked by Leon Falkner, Data & Research AnalystReviewed by Aarav Vardhan, Editor-in-Chief · Last reviewed November 2026
Dan Marino: 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.
- 1961Born September 15 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
- 1979Graduates from Central Catholic High School and begins playing quarterback at the University of Pittsburgh.
- 1983Taken 27th overall by the Miami Dolphins; leads the AFC in passer rating (96.0) as a rookie.
- 1984Named NFL Most Valuable Player with 5,084 passing yards and 48 touchdown passes; the Dolphins lose Super Bowl XIX, 38–16.
- 1999Plays his last NFL season: 11 games, 2,448 passing yards.
- 2005Elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame (Class of 2005).
- 2006Blogging The Boys says he scored a 14 on the Wonderlic; no test date or source is given.
- 2009NBC 6 South Florida gives his Wonderlic score as 16.
- 2015Bleacher Report quotes Sports Illustrated saying he scored 15.
- 2020A Tribune News Service report says his 1983 score was widely reported to be a 16.
Where the 14–16 figure came from
Following a claim back to its first appearance is the part almost nobody does — and it is what most people are actually asking.
What is Dan Marino’s IQ score? No IQ score has been published for him, so it is unknown. What attaches to the phrase “Dan Marino IQ” online is a Wonderlic number, not an intelligence quotient, and no page that prints that number says where it came from. For how figures like this spread from one page to the next, see where celebrity IQ numbers come from.
What is Dan Marino’s Wonderlic score? It is reported as 14, 15 or 16 out of 50, depending on the page. Blogging The Boys, an SB Nation site, wrote on February 28, 2006 that Marino “scored a 14 on his Wonderlic.” NBC 6 South Florida (March 22, 2009) gave 16. So did a Tribune News Service report of April 18, 2020, which said his 1983 score was widely reported to be a 16, and so do The Scouting Academy’s glossary and a football Wonderlic-score database.
Each page that gives a Dan Marino Wonderlic score treats it as settled. But none says when or where the test was taken, who recorded it or where a copy can be seen. The Scouting Academy adds that Wonderlic results are not made public and only sometimes leak to the media.
Where does the “Dan Marino Wonderlic 15” figure come from? Bleacher Report’s Joseph Zucker (February 20, 2015) quotes a Sports Illustrated passage, linked there as a March 24, 2011 article, saying that Hall of Fame quarterbacks Dan Marino and Jim Kelly each scored 15. The passage gives no test date, and pages from 2006, 2009 and 2020 print 14 or 16 instead, so the 15 is one version of an unsourced number. What the test is matters more than which version is right.
The Wonderlic is 50 questions in 12 minutes, an employment screen and not an IQ test, and Wonderlic’s own candidate FAQ says there is no universal “good” or “average” score for its current test. Our guide to Wonderlic scores by job and NFL position traces the quarterback average of 24 to a 1984 book and records that the NFL stopped giving the test at its Combine in 2022.
The Wonderlic-style practice test shows how a score out of 50 feels under time pressure. Informal rules that turn a Wonderlic score into an IQ exist, but Wonderlic publishes none and this page applies none.
Marino’s estimated range here, 95–115, runs from about the 37th to the 84th percentile on a scale with a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15. The IQ percentile calculator shows any score in between. It sits below the 110–125 ranges for Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, and the reason is the evidence, not the men.
According to their profiles, Brady’s 33 comes from the 2000 Combine and Manning’s 28 from the 1998 Combine, each reported with a year, and Manning’s page adds a 3.6 GPA earned in three years, while Marino’s 14–16 comes with neither. Ryan Fitzpatrick, whose reported 48 was first printed by The Wall Street Journal in 2005 and who studied economics at Harvard, marks the other end of the quarterbacks on the site.
How we read a number →No school, adult or clinical IQ result for Marino is public. The Pro Football Hall of Fame profile and the Wikipedia article describe his career and mention neither an IQ nor a Wonderlic score, and the pages that do print a Wonderlic number give no test date or document.
Class of 2005; 17 seasons; 61,361 passing yards and 420 touchdowns; taken 27th overall in the 1983 NFL draft with five quarterbacks, including Elway (first) and Kelly (14th), taken before him; 1984 Most Valuable Player with 5,084 yards and 48 touchdowns; nine Pro Bowls; 47 game-winning drives against Unitas’s 38.
Born September 15, 1961; Pitt 1979–1982; first-team All-American in 1981; 8,597 college passing yards; draft position and the quarterbacks taken first; decision to retire before the 2000 season; Hall of Fame election in 2005; special advisor to the Dolphins from 2014; honorary doctorate from Pitt in 2005. The article does not mention the Wonderlic.
Quotes a Sports Illustrated passage (linked as si.com/nfl/2011/03/24/wonderlic-test) that says Hall of Fame quarterbacks Dan Marino and Jim Kelly each scored 15. Gives no test date. Describes the test as 50 questions in 12 minutes.
States that Marino scored a 14 on his Wonderlic. Cites no source or test date.
Says Marino scored a 16 and gives 21 as the score indicating average intelligence. Cites no source or test date.
Says Marino’s score in 1983 was widely reported to be a 16. Names no document or outlet for the original report.
Says Marino scored a 16 and that Wonderlic results are not made public but occasionally leak to the media.
Lists a score of 16, labels it below average for the NFL and gives a 19th percentile. Shows no source, date or test record.
Quotes Wonderlic’s candidate FAQ that there is no universal “good” or “average” score for its current test; traces the NFL position averages to a 1984 book; says the NFL stopped giving the test at the Combine in 2022 and that Wonderlic publishes no score-to-IQ conversion.
The sources behind our estimate
The figures that circulate for Dan Marino, what we were able to confirm, and where the two diverge.
A Wonderlic score, not an IQ, is what circulates for Dan Marino. The number changes from page to page: 14 on Blogging The Boys (February 28, 2006), 16 on NBC 6 South Florida (March 22, 2009), 15 in a Sports Illustrated passage quoted by Bleacher Report (February 20, 2015), and 16 on the Tribune News Service report of April 18, 2020, The Scouting Academy’s Wonderlic glossary and a football Wonderlic-score database. None of these pages states an IQ for him.
No IQ test result has been published for Dan Marino. The Pro Football Hall of Fame profile and Wikipedia describe his career and give neither an IQ nor a Wonderlic score. Of the six pages that print a Wonderlic number, none gives a test date or a named document: Bleacher Report credits Sports Illustrated for its 15, the Tribune News Service says a 16 was “widely reported” for 1983. The Scouting Academy notes that Wonderlic results are not made public but sometimes leak to the media.
That spread describes the Wonderlic number itself, not an IQ. Six pages disagree by two points on a 50-point test, and the earliest dated page is from 2006, 23 years after the 1983 draft. A figure that moves between 14 and 16 with no document behind it is a recollection, not a record, and it cannot carry an IQ conversion.
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.
Dan Marino — frequently asked
What is Dan Marino’s IQ?
No IQ test result has been published for Dan Marino, so Dan Marino’s IQ is unknown as of November 2026. The number linked to him is a Wonderlic score of 14, 15 or 16 out of 50, depending on the page, and none cites a source. This site’s estimate is 95–115, inferred from his Hall of Fame record, not from a test.
What was Dan Marino’s Wonderlic score?
Dan Marino’s Wonderlic score is reported as 14, 15 or 16 out of 50, and no page gives a test date. Blogging The Boys said 14 in 2006, NBC 6 South Florida said 16 in 2009 and Bleacher Report quoted Sports Illustrated for 15 in 2015. Wonderlic results are not made public, so the number is unverified.
Where does the Wonderlic score of 15 for Dan Marino come from?
The 15 appears in a Sports Illustrated passage that Bleacher Report quoted on February 20, 2015, saying Hall of Fame quarterbacks Dan Marino and Jim Kelly each scored 15. It gives no test date or document, and other pages print 14 or 16, so the 15 is one unsourced version of the score, not a verified result.
Did Dan Marino take an IQ test?
No IQ test result has been published for Dan Marino, and no school, adult or clinical score is public. The Wonderlic number attached to him comes from a 12-minute employment test, not an IQ test. The date, setting and record of his attempt are not documented on any page that prints it.
Is a Wonderlic score the same as an IQ?
No. The Wonderlic is 50 questions in 12 minutes, built as an employment screen, and Wonderlic publishes no score-to-IQ conversion. According to the IQ Metrics guide to Wonderlic scores, informal rules such as doubling the score and adding 60 are unofficial estimates, so this profile applies none of them.
How does Dan Marino’s estimated IQ compare with Tom Brady’s and Peyton Manning’s?
This site estimates 95–115 for Dan Marino and 110–125 for both Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. The gap reflects the evidence, not a ranking of the men: Brady’s 33 and Manning’s 28 come with a year and a reported source, and Manning’s page adds a 3.6 GPA, while Marino’s reported 14–16 has no date or source.
Was Dan Marino a genius?
No test or record establishes that. The documented record is that of one of the great passers in NFL history: the 1984 Most Valuable Player award, 61,361 career passing yards and election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2005. Football success shows skill in one job and does not fix an IQ.
When was Dan Marino inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame?
Dan Marino was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the Class of 2005. The Hall lists 17 seasons with the Miami Dolphins and career totals of 61,361 passing yards and 420 touchdown passes. He was named NFL Most Valuable Player in 1984 after throwing for 5,084 yards and 48 touchdowns.
How does my IQ compare with Dan Marino?
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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