List of National Football League annual sacks leaders - wikipedia List of National Football League annual sacks leaders Michael Strahan holds the single season sack record at 22.5, which he achieved during the 2001 season This is a list of National Football League players who have led the regular season in sacks each year. Sacks became an official statistic in 1982. Michael Strahan of the New York Giants holds the record with 22.5, which he had during the 2001 season. In 2013, the NFL created the Deacon Jones Award to recognize the season leader in sacks. There have only been two players lead in sacks with 2 different teams, Jared Allen ( 2007 with the Chiefs and 2011 with the Vikings ) and Kevin Greene ( 1994 with the Steelers and 1996 with the Panthers ). The Chiefs and the Vikings have had the most players lead the NFL in sacks with 4. Sack leaders Jared Allen led the league in sacks in 2007 and 2011 Year Player Sacks Team 1982 Doug Martin 11.5 Minnesota Vikings Mark Gastineau 19.0 New York Jets 1984 Mark Gastineau 22.0 New York Jets 1985 Richard Dent 17.0 Chicago Bears 1986 Lawrence Taylor 20.5 New York Giants Reggie White 21.0 Philadelphia Eagles Reggie White 18.0 Philadelphia Eagles Chris Doleman 21.0 Minnesota Vikings Derrick Thomas 20.0 Kansas City Chiefs 1991 Pat Swilling 17.0 New Orleans Saints Clyde Simmons 19.0 Philadelphia Eagles Neil Smith 15.0 Kansas City Chiefs Kevin Greene 14.0 Pittsburgh Steelers 1995 Bryce Paup 17.5 Buffalo Bills Kevin Greene 14.5 Carolina Panthers John Randle 15.5 Minnesota Vikings 1998 Michael Sinclair 16.5 Seattle Seahawks 1999 Kevin Carter 17.0 St. Louis Rams 2000 La'Roi Glover 17.0 New Orleans Saints Michael Strahan 22.5 New York Giants 2002 Jason Taylor 18.5 Miami Dolphins 2003 Michael Strahan 18.5 New York Giants Dwight Freeney 16.0 Indianapolis Colts 2005 Derrick Burgess 16.0 Oakland Raiders 2006 Shawne Merriman 17.0 San Diego Chargers 2007 Jared Allen 15.5 Kansas City Chiefs 2008 DeMarcus Ware 20.0 Dallas Cowboys 2009 Elvis Dumervil 17.0 Denver Broncos DeMarcus Ware 15.5 Dallas Cowboys 2011 Jared Allen 22.0 Minnesota Vikings 2012 J.J. Watt 20.5 Houston Texans 2013 Robert Mathis 19.5 Indianapolis Colts 2014 Justin Houston 22.0 Kansas City Chiefs 2015 J.J. Watt 17.5 Houston Texans 2016 Vic Beasley 15.5 Atlanta Falcons References Pro-Football-Reference.com NFL annual sacks leaders ( Deacon Jones Award ) 1982 : Martin 1983 : Gastineau 1984 : Gastineau 1985 : Dent 1986 : L. Taylor 1987 : White 1988 : White 1989 : Doleman 1990 : Thomas 1991 : Swilling 1992 : Simmons 1993 : Smith 1994 : Greene 1995 : Paup 1996 : Greene 1997 : Randle 1998 : Sinclair 1999 : Carter 2000 : Glover 2001 : Strahan 2002 : J. Taylor 2003 : Strahan 2004 : Freeney 2005 : Burgess 2006 : Merriman 2007 : Allen 2008 : Ware 2009 : Dumervil 2010 : Ware 2011 : Allen 2012 : Watt 2013 : Mathis 2014 : Houston 2015 : Watt 2016 : Beasley Starting in 2013, the sack leader is officially given the Deacon Jones Award National Football League records and leaders General Super Bowl records Team playoff records Team records Individual records Games played Consecutive games and starts 99 - yard pass play All - purpose yards Scoring Passing Career Touchdowns Regular season Playoffs Yards 5,000 passing yards Completions Passer rating Wins Playoff win -- loss records Consecutive starts Consecutive games with a TD pass Annual Touchdowns Yards Completion percentage Rating Game Touchdowns Perfect passer rating 400 passing yards Rushing Career Touchdowns Yards Attempts Annual Touchdowns Yards 2,000 - yard club 1,000 - yard duos Receiving Career Touchdowns Yards Receptions Annual Touchdowns Yards Receptions Defense Career Sacks Interceptions Annual Sacks Interceptions Special teams Annual Punting yards Punt return yards NFL Honors Ceremonies 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 AP awards presented Most Valuable Player Coach of the Year Assistant Coach of the Year Offensive Player of the Year Defensive Player of the Year Offensive Rookie of the Year Defensive Rookie of the Year Comeback Player of the Year Other awards presented Walter Payton Man of the Year FedEx Air & Ground NFL Players of the Year Play of the Year Pepsi Rookie of the Year NFL.com Fantasy Player of the Year Salute to Service Award Don Shula High School Coach of the Year Greatness on the Road Award Deacon Jones Award Art Rooney Award Former awards presented Madden Most Valuable Protectors Award ( 2011 ) GMC Never Say Never Moment of the Year ( 2011 -- 14 ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_National_Football_League_annual_sacks_leaders&oldid=802046295 '' Categories : National Football League records and achievements Talk About Wikipedia Deutsch Italiano Edit links This page was last edited on 23 September 2017, at 16 : 59. About Wikipedia

Question: who holds the record for most sacks in a season
Answer: Michael Strahan