The Wikipedia on the 40 yard dash... Best times
The Wikipedia on the 40 yard dash...
Best times
Many reported times are unreliable due to differences in timing methods if not intentional falsifications. The fastest time officially recorded by the
NFL was 4.29 seconds by
Deion Sanders in
1989 [1], although the NFL did not begin electronic timing until 1990. In the electronic timing era, the fastest recorded time at the NFL Combine was 4.31 seconds by cornerbacks
Fabian Washington,
Chris McKenzie,
Carlos Rogers, and
Darrent Williams in
2005.
[2] Most other times close to 4.0 are untrustworthy due to the use of hand timing, but it is often claimed that players including Sanders (4.17)
[3],
Ted Ginn Jr. (4.06)
[4],
DeAngelo Hall (4.15)
[5][6],
Michael Vick (4.25)
[7],
Bo Jackson (4.12)
[8],
Michael Bennett (4.13)
[9],
Randy Moss (4.25)
[10],
Darrell Green (4.15
[11], 4.2
[12]),
Laveranues Coles (4.2)
[13], and
Alexander Wright (4.09)
[14] have approached that mark. The absolute fastest time has likely not been run by a football player but by a
sprinter in
track and field. Although 40 yards is never run, the
60 meter dash is a well-regulated track and field distance, the official record for which is 6.39 seconds by
Maurice Greene. Tapes of sprinter
Ben Johnson's world-record breaking 1988
100 meter dash (which was later annulled due to Johnson's steroid use), however, show that Johnson ran the 60 m in 6.37 seconds; this is considered the most quickly started race ever run.
[15] Nonetheless, Johnson "only" covered the first 40 yards in 4.38 seconds. It is highly doubtful that any football player could run 40 yards faster than a world-class sprinter in spikes on a track, casting doubts on many claimed 40 yard times.
However, in
track and field races, the runner must
react to the starting gun, which can take 0.2-0.3 seconds. For electronically timed 40 yard dashes, the runner is allowed to start when he wishes, which automatically triggers the clock. This difference would indicate that, at peak form, Johnson more likely ran the 40 yard dash in 4.08-4.18 seconds, making claims in the 4.2-range more credible.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/40_yard_dash