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The players with the most teammates
Nobody shared a clubhouse with more people than the journeymen. The top ten in every sport, and why they're the best links in Teammate Chain.
By Austin · October 16, 2026
Some players spend a whole career with one team. Others pack a bag every year. For most of sports history, that second group has been seen as a footnote: journeymen, depth signings, veterans for the stretch run.
In one way, though, nobody beats them. Every new team means a new clubhouse full of teammates, and over a long career that adds up to a huge number of people. We counted every distinct teammate of every player in the Teammate Chain data.
| Sport | Most teammates | Teammates |
|---|---|---|
| Baseball | Rich Hill | 944 |
| Basketball | Jeff Green | 303 |
| Football | Josh Johnson | 1,392 |
| Hockey | Mike Sillinger | 599 |
| Soccer | Marco Borriello | 648 |
Look at the career years in the tables below: almost every name is from the last 40 years. A modern journeyman can play with more people in one season than a 1950s player did in three.
Baseball
Almost the whole list is pitchers, and relievers above all. A reliever can be traded, released and signed again several times in one year, and modern teams shuttle pitchers between the majors and the minors constantly. Every move is a new clubhouse of 26 to 40 players.
| Player | Career | Teammates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rich Hill | 2005–2025 | 944 |
| 2 | Edwin Jackson | 2003–2019 | 871 |
| 3 | Jesse Chavez | 2008–2025 | 857 |
| 4 | Terry Mulholland | 1986–2006 | 791 |
| 5 | Craig Kimbrel | 2010–2026 | 785 |
| 6 | David Weathers | 1991–2009 | 762 |
| 7 | Tyler Clippard | 2007–2022 | 750 |
| 8 | Tommy Pham | 2014–2026 | 749 |
| 9 | Luis Garcia | 2013–2026 | 739 |
| 10 | David Robertson | 2008–2025 | 730 |
Why so recent? Teams use more players per season than they used to: longer injured lists, more call-ups, bullpens that turn over constantly.
Basketball
Basketball rosters are small, about 15 players, so it takes a lot of moving to reach these totals. Everyone here played for many teams, often on short contracts late in their careers, the veteran a contender adds for the playoff run.
| Player | Career | Teammates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jeff Green | 2007–2025 | 303 |
| 2 | Trevor Ariza | 2004–2021 | 292 |
| 3 | Garrett Temple | 2009–2025 | 289 |
| 4 | Ish Smith | 2010–2022 | 277 |
| 5 | Vince Carter | 1998–2019 | 275 |
| 6 | JaVale McGee | 2008–2023 | 271 |
| 7 | D.J. Augustin | 2008–2021 | 270 |
| 8 | Anthony Tolliver | 2008–2020 | 268 |
| 9 | Juwan Howard | 1994–2012 | 264 |
| 10 | DeAndre Jordan | 2008–2025 | 264 |
Why so recent? Teams use more players per season than they used to, with two-way contracts, ten-day deals and more trades.
Football
Football's numbers dwarf every other sport's because its rosters are enormous: 53 players, plus everyone who passes through during a season. Backup quarterbacks and kickers lead the way. They last a long time, and teams are always looking for one.
| Player | Career | Teammates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Josh Johnson | 2008–2026 | 1,392 |
| 2 | Calais Campbell | 2008–2026 | 1,088 |
| 3 | Tyrod Taylor | 2011–2026 | 1,056 |
| 4 | Matt Prater | 2007–2025 | 1,050 |
| 5 | Josh McCown | 2002–2020 | 1,005 |
| 6 | Nick Folk | 2007–2026 | 992 |
| 7 | Ryan Fitzpatrick | 2005–2021 | 991 |
| 8 | Case Keenum | 2013–2026 | 987 |
| 9 | John Jenkins | 2013–2026 | 986 |
| 10 | Marcedes Lewis | 2006–2025 | 982 |
Why so recent? Rosters have grown, practice squads turn over constantly, and our data only starts in 1970.
Hockey
Hockey's leaders are a mix of very long careers and well-traveled veterans: defensemen and checking forwards who were traded at the deadline year after year. Mike Sillinger, near the top, played for an NHL-record 12 teams.
| Player | Career | Teammates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mike Sillinger | 1990–2008 | 599 |
| 2 | Mathieu Schneider | 1987–2009 | 557 |
| 3 | Jaromir Jagr | 1990–2017 | 553 |
| 4 | Mark Recchi | 1988–2010 | 540 |
| 5 | Michel Petit | 1982–1997 | 513 |
| 6 | Luke Schenn | 2008–2026 | 503 |
| 7 | Matt Cullen | 1997–2018 | 495 |
| 8 | Derick Brassard | 2007–2022 | 493 |
| 9 | Marc Bergevin | 1984–2003 | 490 |
| 10 | Grant Ledyard | 1984–2001 | 487 |
Why so recent? Teams dress more players per season than they used to, and our data only starts with the 1967 expansion.
Soccer
The top of the soccer list is almost all Serie A. Italian clubs have a long habit of loans and co-ownership deals, so a well-traveled striker could play for half the league over a career, and big squads mean big numbers.
| Player | Big-five seasons | Teammates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marco Borriello | 2002–2017 | 648 |
| 2 | Nicola Amoruso | 1991–2009 | 638 |
| 3 | Cesare Bovo | 2000–2016 | 513 |
| 4 | Alberto Gilardino | 1998–2016 | 511 |
| 5 | Matteo Brighi | 2000–2018 | 509 |
| 6 | Kevin-Prince Boateng | 2005–2022 | 508 |
| 7 | Pepe Reina | 1998–2024 | 493 |
| 8 | Antonio Candreva | 2007–2023 | 489 |
| 9 | Felipe | 2002–2019 | 485 |
| 10 | Emiliano Moretti | 2000–2018 | 474 |
Why so recent? Squads are bigger, loans are everywhere, and our data only counts the big five leagues.
Why this matters in Teammate Chain
These players are the best links in the game. If you need to connect two players and one of these names played for both of their teams, you’re done. Even when he didn’t, a journeyman is usually just one more link from wherever you need to go. For the other kind of career, see the longest one-club careers, and for how few links any two players are apart, the center of every sport.
How we counted
A teammate is anyone who appeared for the same club in the same regular season. Each person counts once, however many seasons they played together.
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 baseball and basketball, every player’s whole career in the league is in our data. In football, hockey and soccer, our data starts after the league did, so anyone already playing in our first season is left out: he may have had teammates before it. Time in other leagues isn’t counted anywhere.
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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