Ken Norton ranks in the all-time elite tier for linebackers — a career that places Norton in the top 3% of all players at the position. The Knox value model assigns Norton a career score of 74, reflecting sustained impact that most players at the position never approach.

MLBSF#51ACT

Ken Norton

3× Pro Bowl1× All-Pro👑 Dynasty DNA · 11 seasons · 3 titles Top 3% all-time linebackersIron Legend⭐ Shooting Star · 1999

Height6'2"

Weight254 lb

BornSep 29, 1966

Age59

CollegeUCLA See College Stats

Rookie yr1988

Draft1988 · Rd 2, Pick 41 · DAL

All-Time Rank & Honors

career ranks, postseason ranks, awards, title context

Pro Bowls

All-Pro

Title Seasons

Dynasty Seasons

Archetype Intelligence

Iron LegendExplore archetypes →

An all-time caliber linebacker (top 5% all-time) who combined elite production with exceptional availability — almost never missed time. Iron Legends define eras — they show up, every game, for years on end.

Career Value · VORP

VORP 233 · #273 · Elite

Worth 233 points of value above a freely-available replacement linebacker — top 7% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 11 of 12 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +21.2 on average.See board →

Seasons above replacement

11 cleared

Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it — adds 0, never a debit

Replacement

the KC-H bar

→

Seasons over

cleared the bar

+21.2

Avg surplus

peak +30

11 seasons × ~21.2 surplus ≈ VORP 233

Combined Season Grid

The full season-by-season grids, joined on one timeline. Every selected stat family stays visible at once—no tab hopping.

1 grid split in one view

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Defense
Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tkl	Solo	Ast	TFL	QBHits	Sk	Dis	Int	PD	FF	FR	TD	Sfty
1989	—	DAL	13	—	53	40	—	—	—	2.5	2.5	—	3	0	—	—	—
1990	—	DAL	15	—	0	0	—	—	—	2.5	2.5	—	0	0	—	—	—
1991	—	DAL	16	—	67	0	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	1	0	—	—	—
1992	—	DAL	16	—	82	69	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	4	1	—	—	—
1993	—	DAL	16	—	123	98	—	—	—	2.0	2.0	1	5	0	—	—	—
1994	—	SF	16	—	87	77	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	1	5	1	—	—	—
1995	—	SF	16	—	95	81	—	—	—	1.0	1.0	3	5	1	—	—	—
1996	—	SF	16	—	127	106	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	2	0	—	—	—
1997	—	SF	16	—	95	70	—	—	—	1.5	1.5	—	8	2	—	—	—
1998	—	SF	16	—	113	91	—	—	—	2.0	2.0	—	5	2	—	—	—
1999	—	SF	16	—	93	67	26	9	1	1.0	11.0	0	7	1	1	0	0
2000	—	SF	16	—	65	39	26	7	0	0.0	7.0	0	2	0	1	0	0
Career		—	188	—	1,000	738	52	16	1	12.5	29.5	5	47	8	2	0	0

Defense

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tkl	Solo	Ast	TFL	QBHits	Sk	Dis	Int	PD	FF	FR	TD	Sfty	VAL
1989	23	DAL	13	—	53	40	—	—	—	2.5	2.5	—	3	0	—	—	—	6.6
1990	24	DAL	15	—	0	0	—	—	—	2.5	2.5	—	0	0	—	—	—	7.2
1991	25	DAL	16	—	67	0	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	1	0	—	—	—	6.2
1992	26	DAL	16	—	82	69	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	4	1	—	—	—	8.9
1993	27	DAL	16	—	123	98	—	—	—	2.0	2.0	1	5	0	—	—	—	9.2
1994	28	SF	16	—	87	77	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	1	5	1	—	—	—	8.8
1995	29	SF	16	—	95	81	—	—	—	1.0	1.0	3	5	1	—	—	—	9.8
1996	30	SF	16	—	127	106	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	2	0	—	—	—	7.9
1997	31	SF	16	—	95	70	—	—	—	1.5	1.5	—	8	2	—	—	—	11
1998	32	SF	16	—	113	91	—	—	—	2.0	2.0	—	5	2	—	—	—	12.9
1999	33	SF	16	—	93	67	26	9	1	1.0	11.0	0	7	1	1	0	0	9
2000	34	SF	16	—	65	39	26	7	0	0.0	7.0	0	2	0	1	0	0	6.8
Career			188		1,000	738	52	16	1	—	—	5	47	8	2	0	0	104.3

KV-H Anatomy

KV-H 74 · Great

A great career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 74 of 100, era-normalized against tackles/g peers across 12 scored seasons.

Sustained

career value

×.6

Peak

best 3 seasons

×.4

×1

Longevity

career length

Blend 70.6 × longevity 1 = KV-H 74· confidence 100%

What builds the career mark of 67

On-field 47.2

Availability 19.8

On-field production Staying available

Season-by-season quality (era-relative tackles/g)

1989bestavg 66elite 702000

All-Time Standing

how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position

Depth

of 100

Reached 6% of the all-time Sacks leader — a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.

6% of the all-time Sacks leader6

0 categories ≥25% of the all-time leader0

A 0–100 scale where 100 = matched the all-time leaderat this position. Built only from visible encyclopedia data — career production vs. the all-time leader, plus efficiency (EPA) and comparable-player confidence — so it's a transparent context score, not a subjective rating. Tiers: Elite ≥ 85 · Strong ≥ 65 · Solid ≥ 45 · Depth < 45. Comparable-player confidence: 89%.

Career Aging Trajectory

vs. position group average · KV-H basis

Amber = this player (normalized to own peak). Indigo = average linebackers aging curve. Group peak age: 25. Source: StatVault KV-H era (1999+).

College Stats

UCLACollege listed; stat table pending import

College stats are not imported for this profile yet.

StatVault has the verified college attribution (UCLA), but no parsed college box-score table is present in this profile artifact. The section stays here so every profile has a consistent college-stats landing point without fabricating unavailable rows.

Reference Graph

Career teammates and draft class, derived from year-by-year rosters — every name is linked.

1988 Draft Class· this player went #41

#24Craig HeywardRB #27Wendell DavisWR #30Eric AllenCB #31Ickey WoodsRB #32Pat CarterTE #35Anthony NewmanS #36Jumbo ElliottOT #40Thurman ThomasRB #46Flipper AndersonWR #47Fred StricklandLB #49Brian BladesWR #52Brett PerrimanWR #53Lars TateRB #60Quinn EarlyWR #61Keith WoodsideRB #65Bernard FordWR

Franchise Succession

the room, before and after

Ken inherited the San Francisco 49ers LB room from Tony Peterson (1994–1999), and handed it to Jeff Posey (1998–2000).

Bill Romanowski 1988–1993Kevin Mitchell 1994–1997Lee Woodall 1994–1999Tony Peterson 1994–1999Ken Norton 1994–2000Jeff Posey

Similar Players

Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0–100%).

Movementderived from season history

2000final season
Last recorded season with SF
1994team change
Joined SF (from DAL)
1988draft
Drafted by DAL — Round 2, Pick 41

Athletic & Unique Profile

verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts

6'2" / 254 lb

Frame

Knox

StatVault's proprietary player intelligence, informed by full career data. How Knox works →

Historical Knox · KV-H

Era-normalized career quality — z-scored against 12-season peers. See all →

peak 76

Season Report Cards· KV-H era-normalized per season

B1989

C1990

B1991

B1992

B+1993

B1994

B1995

B+1996

B+1997

B+1998

B+1999

B2000

Availability

Era Translator

Tackles translated to the 2025NFL — each season's standing among its own-era peers, projected onto 2025's scoring environment. Modern-era (1999+) coverage.

Season	Actual Tackles	Tackles/G	→ 2025 Tackles	→ 2025 /G
1989	53	4.1	72+19	4.2
1990	0	0	12+12	0.7
1991	67	4.2	71+4	4.2
1992	82	5.1	84+2	4.9
1993	123	7.7	115-8	6.8
1994	87	5.4	81-6	4.8
1995	95	5.9	90-5	5.3
1996	127	7.9	125-2	7.4
1997	95	5.9	97+2	5.7
1998	113	7.1	118+5	6.9
1999	93	5.8	99+6	5.8
2000	65	4.1	62-3	3.7

Data: nflverse:players, nflverse:player_stats_def, nflverse:draft_picks, wikipedia:season-stats (CC-BY-SA, facts-only), nfl.com:official-stats (facts-only reference), espn.com:stats-api (facts-only reference), espn.com:stats-api (games-played, facts-only reference), nfl.com:official-stats (games-played, facts-only reference) · multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle · updated 6/18/2026

Career Value · VORP

233 career value over replacement — #273 all-time of 4,642. 19.4/season above a replacement-level LB.

Draft OutcomeSteal ↑

Pick #41 (Rd 2) · DAL · 1988 · +24.2 vs expected KV-H

74actual

49.8 expected · Δ+24.2

Fan Rating

Rate Ken Norton — All-Time

Tap a star to rate

Explore More

Similar Players

David Wyman

MLB

92% match

Fred Strickland

89% match

Bernardo Harris

ILB

88% match

Channing Crowder

ILB

88% match

Eric Hill

88% match

Compare Ken Norton vs Player Report data error

Ken Norton

All-Time Rank & Honors

Archetype Intelligence

Career Value · VORP

Combined Season Grid

Defense

KV-H Anatomy

All-Time Standing

Career Aging Trajectory

College Stats

Reference Graph

Top Teammates

1988 Draft Class· this player went #41

Franchise Succession

Similar Players

Movementderived from season history

Athletic & Unique Profile

Knox

Era Translator