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The longest partnerships in sports
Jeter and Rivera, Stockton and Malone, Crosby, Malkin and Letang: the teammates who stayed together the longest, counted from every roster in five sports.
By Austin · October 16, 2026
Free agency, trades and salary caps mean most teammates don’t stay teammates for long. A few pairs beat the odds and shared a locker room for most of their careers. We counted every season every pair of players spent on the same roster, across five sports.
| Sport | Partners | Together | Seasons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baseball | Derek Jeter & Mariano Rivera | 1995–2013 | 19 |
| Basketball | Karl Malone & John Stockton | 1985–2002 | 18 |
| Football | Aaron Rodgers & Mason Crosby | 2007–2022 | 16 |
| Hockey | Sidney Crosby & Evgeni Malkin | 2006–2026 | 21 |
| Soccer | Paolo Maldini & Alessandro Costacurta | 1987–2006 | 20 |
Most of these partnerships have something in common: one club, almost the whole way through. A star who could have left for more money didn’t, and neither did the teammate next to him.
Baseball
Before free agency arrived in 1976, a player could only leave if his club let him, so long partnerships were common. Since then they take a franchise that keeps its homegrown core, which is why the modern names on the list cluster around a few dynasties.
Baseball's list stretches across its whole history. Honus Wagner and Fred Clarke moved together from Louisville to Pittsburgh in 1900, when Louisville's owner took over the Pirates and brought his best players with him. Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker turned double plays for the Tigers for 19 seasons, and the Yankees' core of the late 1990s shows up three times.
| Partners | Club | Together | Seasons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Derek Jeter & Mariano Rivera | New York Yankees | 1995–2013 | 19 |
| Alan Trammell & Lou Whitaker | Detroit Tigers | 1977–1995 | 19 |
| George Brett & Frank White | Kansas City Royals | 1973–1990 | 18 |
| Honus Wagner & Fred Clarke | Pittsburgh Pirates, Louisville Colonels | 1897–1915 | 18 |
| Sam Rice & Joe Judge | Washington Senators | 1915–1932 | 18 |
| Roberto Clemente & Bill Mazeroski | Pittsburgh Pirates | 1956–1972 | 17 |
| Pete Rose & Tony Perez | Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies | 1964–1986 | 17 |
| Yadier Molina & Adam Wainwright | St. Louis Cardinals | 2005–2022 | 17 |
| Derek Jeter & Jorge Posada | New York Yankees | 1995–2011 | 17 |
| Mariano Rivera & Jorge Posada | New York Yankees | 1995–2011 | 17 |
Basketball
Basketball's long partnerships are almost all built around a star who never left: keep the star, keep the people he trusts.
John Stockton and Karl Malone played 18 seasons together in Utah, and no NBA pair has matched it. The Spurs' Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili are the closest thing basketball has to a trio that never broke up.
| Partners | Club | Together | Seasons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Karl Malone & John Stockton | Utah Jazz | 1985–2002 | 18 |
| Tony Parker & Manu Ginobili | San Antonio Spurs | 2002–2017 | 16 |
| Tim Duncan & Tony Parker | San Antonio Spurs | 2001–2015 | 15 |
| Dwyane Wade & Udonis Haslem | Miami Heat | 2003–2018 | 15 |
| Stephen Curry & Draymond Green | Golden State Warriors | 2012–2025 | 14 |
| Tim Duncan & Manu Ginobili | San Antonio Spurs | 2002–2015 | 14 |
| Robert Parish & Kevin McHale | Boston Celtics | 1980–1992 | 13 |
| Isiah Thomas & Bill Laimbeer | Detroit Pistons | 1981–1993 | 13 |
| Kobe Bryant & Derek Fisher | Los Angeles Lakers | 1996–2011 | 13 |
| Robert Parish & Larry Bird | Boston Celtics | 1980–1991 | 12 |
Football
Football careers are short, so a long partnership usually means a quarterback or a kicker, the two positions that last, paired with a franchise star.
Aaron Rodgers and Mason Crosby were together in Green Bay for 16 seasons. Andre Reed and Bruce Smith spent 15 seasons in Buffalo and then, in 2000, both signed with Washington.
| Partners | Club | Together | Seasons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aaron Rodgers & Mason Crosby | Green Bay Packers | 2007–2022 | 16 |
| Andre Reed & Bruce Smith | Buffalo Bills, Washington Redskins | 1985–2000 | 16 |
| Philip Rivers & Antonio Gates | San Diego Chargers, Los Angeles Chargers | 2004–2018 | 15 |
| Bill Bates & Mark Tuinei | Dallas Cowboys | 1983–1997 | 15 |
| Tom Brady & Stephen Gostkowski | New England Patriots | 2006–2019 | 14 |
| Jason Witten & Tony Romo | Dallas Cowboys | 2003–2016 | 14 |
| Jason Witten & L.P. Ladouceur | Dallas Cowboys | 2005–2019 | 14 |
| Jason Kelce & Brandon Graham | Philadelphia Eagles | 2011–2024 | 14 |
| Mike Webster & Donnie Shell | Pittsburgh Steelers | 1974–1987 | 14 |
| Mike Webster & John Stallworth | Pittsburgh Steelers | 1974–1987 | 14 |
Hockey
Hockey's list is full of players drafted by the same club who never left. Since the salary cap arrived in 2005, keeping a core together has been harder, which makes the active names on it more remarkable.
Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang have been teammates in Pittsburgh since 2006, the longest-running trio in North American team sports. The Sedin twins played every one of their 17 NHL seasons side by side in Vancouver.
| Partners | Club | Together | Seasons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sidney Crosby & Evgeni Malkin | Pittsburgh Penguins | 2006–2026 | 21 |
| Sidney Crosby & Kris Letang | Pittsburgh Penguins | 2006–2026 | 21 |
| Evgeni Malkin & Kris Letang | Pittsburgh Penguins | 2006–2026 | 21 |
| Martin Brodeur & Patrik Elias | New Jersey Devils | 1995–2013 | 18 |
| Alex Ovechkin & Nicklas Backstrom | Washington Capitals | 2007–2024 | 18 |
| Nicklas Lidstrom & Kris Draper | Detroit Red Wings | 1993–2010 | 17 |
| Anze Kopitar & Drew Doughty | Los Angeles Kings | 2008–2024 | 17 |
| Henrik Sedin & Daniel Sedin | Vancouver Canucks | 2000–2017 | 17 |
| Mark Messier & Kevin Lowe | Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers | 1979–1995 | 16 |
| Larry Robinson & Bob Gainey | Montréal Canadiens | 1973–1988 | 16 |
Soccer
Soccer's long partnerships are mostly academy graduates who stayed at the club that raised them: the Italian bandiere, Manchester United's class of '92, Barcelona's La Masia generation.
Paolo Maldini and Alessandro Costacurta defended for AC Milan together for 20 seasons. Manchester United's class of '92 (Giggs, Scholes, Neville) fills the next spots.
| Partners | Club | Together | Seasons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paolo Maldini & Alessandro Costacurta | AC Milan | 1987–2006 | 20 |
| Ryan Giggs & Paul Scholes | Manchester United | 1994–2012 | 19 |
| Ryan Giggs & Gary Neville | Manchester United | 1992–2010 | 19 |
| Paul Scholes & Gary Neville | Manchester United | 1994–2010 | 17 |
| Francesco Totti & Daniele De Rossi | AS Roma | 2001–2016 | 16 |
| Sergio Ramos & Marcelo | Real Madrid | 2006–2020 | 15 |
| Sergio Busquets & Gerard Piqué | FC Barcelona | 2008–2022 | 15 |
| Steven Gerrard & Jamie Carragher | Liverpool FC | 1998–2012 | 15 |
| Uwe Kamps & Christian Hochstätter | Borussia Mönchengladbach | 1982–1997 | 15 |
| Jean-Paul Bertrand-Demanes & Loïc Amisse | FC Nantes | 1973–1987 | 15 |
Why this matters in Teammate Chain
Long partnerships are the strongest links in Teammate Chain. If you know two players spent a decade together, you don’t need to remember which season: any of them connects. They’re also the whole game in the 3+ seasons together mode of Unlimited, where every link has to be a pair who shared at least three seasons. More in the Teammate Chain strategy guide, and for players who never changed teams at all, the longest one-club careers.
How we counted
A season counts if both players appeared for the same club that season, and it counts once, even if the two were traded together in the middle of it. The seasons don’t have to be in a row, and the club can change along the way. Ties are listed with the better-known pair first.
About the data
These numbers come from the rosters behind Teammate Chain, not from every league a player ever played in. Two players count as teammates only if both are on the same club’s roster for the same season in our data, so a player who spent part of his career somewhere we don’t cover has fewer teammates here than he really had.
- Baseball: every MLB and major-league season since 1871. Every major-league season is included, back to the National Association, so baseball careers are complete.
- Basketball: every NBA season since 1946-47 (BAA included). The ABA isn't included, so ABA seasons (Julius Erving's, Moses Malone's, Spencer Haywood's first) don't count. Some rosters from the 1960s to the 1980s are incomplete.
- Football: every NFL season since the 1970 merger. Nothing before 1970, so the AFL and the pre-merger NFL are missing, along with the USFL, XFL and other leagues. A career like George Blanda's (1949-1975) only counts from 1970.
- Hockey: every NHL season since the 1967 expansion. Nothing before 1967-68, and no WHA, so Gordie Howe and Bobby Hull, for example, only count from 1967.
- Soccer: Europe's top five leagues since 1963-64. Only league matches in the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, the Bundesliga and Ligue 1. Seasons anywhere else (Portugal, the Netherlands, Turkey, MLS, lower divisions) and cup and international matches aren't included. Teammates count from the club's squad list, even a player who didn't play that season; career lengths count only the seasons he played. A career that starts with a newly promoted club may have begun in a lower division, so those careers are left out of the lists.
In football, hockey and soccer, where our data starts after the league did, pairs with a player already active in our first season are left out, since they may have shared earlier seasons we don’t have. In soccer, only seasons in the big five leagues count. Partnerships still going count through the latest season in the data.
Careers that are still going count through the latest season in the data, as of October 17, 2026. Players who share a name are kept apart by their league ids and birth dates, and a player listed on a roster for a season he didn’t play (an injured rookie, a draft pick still overseas) isn’t counted for it. Spot a mistake? Let us know.
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