NOW YOU KNOW

San Francisco quarterback Steve Young was the highest rated passer in the NFL this season, with a rating of 97.2. Here’s how the NFL arrived at that figure:

Four categories are used as a basis for compiling the rating.

1. Completion percentage: Young completed 214 of 316 passes, or 67.7%. Subtract 30 from the percentage (37.7) and multiply the result by 0.05. The result is a point rating of 1.885.

2. Touchdown percentage: 14 touchdown passes in 316 attempts is 4.43%. Multiply that by 0.2. The result is a point rating of 0.886.

3. Interception percentage: Six interceptions in 316 attempts is 1.89%. Multiply that by 0.25 (0.4725) and subtract that from 2.375. The result is a point rating of 1.903.

4. Average yards: Young passed for 2,410 yards in 316 attempts, an average of 7.63. Subtract three from that (4.63) and multiply by 0.25 for a point rating of 1.158.

Add the four ratings together (5.832) and divide by six (0.972). Multiply that by 100 and that is how Young gets a 97.2 rating.

The maximum points that can be received in each category is 2.375, and the minimum is zero.