Despite his collegiate success, Moon was led to believe that he would only be a late-round NFL pick and was fearful that it would lead to a limited opportunity to make it in the NFL.
Edmonton Eskimos Six weeks before the
NFL draft, Moon signed with the
Edmonton Eskimos. He and
Tom Wilkinson shared signal-calling duties from 1978 to 1981, winning four consecutive Grey Cups during this span. Moon became Edmonton's starting quarterback midway through the
1980 season. That year, the team won their
third consecutive Grey Cup, and Moon won his first
Grey Cup Offensive MVP award as Edmonton defeated Hamilton 48–10. In
1981, Moon started his first year as Edmonton's No. 1 quarterback with Wilkinson, who would retire after the season, as the team's No. 2 quarterback. Moon was moved to the reserve list for Edmonton's game against Ottawa on October 12. During the Grey Cup, Moon was struggling, and Edmonton was trailing Ottawa 20–0 in the second quarter. At this time, Moon was replaced by Wilkinson. Moon returned in the second half and directed drives for three touchdowns and the game winning field goal with three seconds remaining in the game. Edmonton defeated Ottawa 26–23 to win a CFL record
fourth consecutive Grey Cup. In
1982, Moon became the first professional quarterback to pass for 5,000 yards in a season by reaching exactly 5,000 yards. He passed for 36 touchdowns, which set an Edmonton record, and was third in a single season in CFL history. Edmonton would recover from a 3–5 start to finish the regular season 11–5, and first place in the West Division for the sixth consecutive season. The team qualified for the Grey Cup for the sixth consecutive season and won the
Grey Cup for the fifth consecutive year. Moon was named the Grey Cup Offensive MVP for the second time in his career. In his final CFL season,
1983, Moon threw for league-records in pass completions (380), attempts (664), and yards (5,648), records which have since been broken. On October 15 against Montreal, Moon set an Edmonton record by passing for 555 yards, which was third in a single game in CFL history. Moon was nominated as the West All-Star quarterback, and won the
Jeff Nicklin Memorial Trophy, which is awarded to the Most Outstanding Player in the West Division. He was then nominated as the CFL All-Star quarterback and won the
CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award. However, the season was not as successful for the Eskimos as they finished with an 8–8 record. Having barely made the playoffs (which they would have missed altogether if not for a loss by the
Calgary Stampeders to the last place
Saskatchewan Roughriders in the last week of the regular season), the Eskimos were throttled in Winnipeg by the
Blue Bombers in the West semifinal. During his six years in the CFL, Moon amassed 1,369 completions on 2,382 attempts (57.4 completion percentage) for 21,228 yards and 144 touchdown passes. He also led the Eskimos to victory in nine of 10 postseason games. In 2001, Moon was inducted into the
Canadian Football Hall of Fame and the Eskimos'
Wall of Honour. Five years later, he was ranked fifth on a list of the
greatest 50 CFL players presented by Canadian sports network
TSN.
Houston Oilers in 1987 Moon's decision to enter the NFL touched off a bidding war for his services, won by the
Houston Oilers, led by
Hugh Campbell, his head coach for his first five seasons in Edmonton. Moon had a difficult adjustment period, but threw for a franchise-record 3,338 yards in his first season in
1984, but Campbell was just at the helm and did not finish the
1985 season. When new head coach
Jerry Glanville found ways to best use Moon's strong arm in
1986, the team began having success. In the strike-marred
1987 season, the Oilers posted a record, their first winning season since
1980. In his first postseason game in the NFL, Moon threw for 237 yards and a touchdown in the Oilers' 23–20 overtime victory over the
Seattle Seahawks in the
Wild Card Round of the
playoffs. Prior to the
1989 season, Moon signed a five-year, $10-million contract extension, which made him the highest-paid player in the NFL at that time. In
1990, Moon led the league with 4,689 passing yards. He also led the league in attempts (584), completions (362), and touchdowns (33), and tied
Dan Marino's record with nine 300-yard games in a season. That included throwing for 527 yards against Kansas City on December 16, 1990, the second-most passing yards ever in a single game. The
following season, Moon again led the league in passing yards, with 4,690. At the same time, Moon joined Marino and
Dan Fouts as the only quarterbacks to post back-to-back 4,000-yard seasons. Moon also established new NFL records that season with 655 attempts and 404 completions. In
1992, Moon played only 11 games due to injuries, but the Oilers still managed to achieve a 10–6 record, including a victory over the
Buffalo Bills at home in the regular season finale. A week later, the Oilers traveled to Buffalo to face the Bills again in the first round of the AFC playoffs. Aided by Moon's 222 passing yards and four touchdowns in the first half, Houston built up a 28–3 halftime lead and increased it to 35–3 when Buffalo quarterback
Frank Reich's first pass of the third quarter was intercepted and returned for a touchdown by
Bubba McDowell. However, the Bills stormed back with five unanswered second-half touchdowns to take a 38–35 lead with time running out in the final period. Moon managed to lead the Oilers on a last-second field goal drive to tie the game at 38 and force overtime. However, he threw an interception in the extra period that set up Buffalo kicker
Steve Christie's game-winning field goal. The Bills' rally from a 32-point deficit was the largest comeback victory in NFL history at the time and became known in NFL lore simply as
the Comeback. Moon finished the 41–38 road loss with 36 completions for 371 yards, four touchdowns, and two interceptions. His 36 completions were an NFL postseason record. The
1993 season was the Oilers' best with Moon but was also his last with the team. Despite a drama-filled 1–4 start and early struggles from Moon, Houston went 12–4 and won the
AFC Central division crown. However, the Oilers lost to
Joe Montana and the
Kansas City Chiefs 28–20 in the Divisional Round of the
playoffs. Moon set a franchise record with Houston for wins with 70, which stood until
Steve McNair broke it in 2004, long after the team became the
Tennessee Titans. Moon also left the Oilers as the franchise leader in passing touchdowns, passing yards, pass attempts, and pass completions, all of which still stand today.
Minnesota Vikings On April 14, 1994, Moon was traded to the
Minnesota Vikings for a 1994 fourth round pick and a 1995 third round pick; he signed a two-year deal with the Vikings. Moon passed for over 4,200 yards in each of his first two seasons. The Vikings signed him to a three-year contract extension in 1996. However, Moon would miss half of the
1996 season with a broken
collarbone. The Vikings' starting quarterback job was given to
Brad Johnson and Moon was released after he refused to take a $3.8 million pay cut to serve as Johnson's backup.
Seattle Seahawks Moon signed with the
Seattle Seahawks as a free agent in
1997, made the
Pro Bowl, and was named Pro Bowl MVP. He played for them for two seasons.
Kansas City Chiefs Moon signed as a free agent with the
Kansas City Chiefs as a backup in
1999. Moon's 291st and final touchdown pass was an eight-yard pass to
Troy Drayton against the
St. Louis Rams on October 22, 2000, a game in which the Chiefs defeated the
defending champions 54–34. He played in only three games in two years with the Chiefs and announced his retirement at age 44 on January 25, 2001.
Legacy Combining his NFL and CFL stats, Moon's numbers are nearly unmatched in professional football annals: 5,357 completions in 9,205 attempts for 70,553 yards and 435 touchdowns. Even if his Canadian Football League statistics are discounted, Moon's NFL career numbers are still exceptional: 3,988 completions for 49,325 yards and 291 touchdowns to go along with 1,736 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns. Moon also held individual NFL lifetime records for most fumbles recovered (56) and most fumbles made (162), but this was surpassed by
Brett Favre in 2010. Moon was in the top five all-time when he retired for passing yards, passing touchdowns, pass attempts, and pass completions. Moon was named to nine
Pro Bowls (1988–1995, 1997). He worked as a
broadcaster for the
Seattle Seahawks on both TV and radio until 2017. Moon was elected to the
Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006, becoming both the first
Canadian Football Hall of Fame player, first undrafted quarterback, and first African-American quarterback honored; he was elected in his first year of eligibility. On October 1, 2006, the
Tennessee Titans retired Moon's number at halftime in a game against the
Dallas Cowboys. He won his first Super Bowl ring in 2014 as a broadcaster for the Seahawks. On April 25, 2025, Moon un-retired his No. 1 Titans jersey to allow quarterback and
first overall pick in the
2025 NFL draft,
Cam Ward, to wear it. ==Career statistics==