Adrian Peterson - Celebrity Biographies – World

Adrian Lewis Peterson is a professional American NFL football player. He began his career playing college football at the Oklahoma University and soon became the first freshman to ever finish as runner-up in the ‘Heinsman Trophy’. With a traumatic childhood, Adrian put all his attention to football and made it his battlefield to vent out the pain and anger of his horrid past. In fact, he went on to bag the ‘NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year’ title in his debut season playing under the Minnesota Vikings. It wasn’t long before he claimed the title of the fifth fastest player to run for 5,000 yards. However, misfortune struck him in the prime of his career when he suffered a rather grave leg injury. Withstanding all odds, he fought his way back to fitness and was even titled the sixth fastest player to run for 8000 rushing yards. Ever since his injury, he has been on a success spree and is presently the third player to cross 10,000 rushing yards in all of American NFL history. In 2014, he was suspended for causing a negligent injury to hisson, but the following year, he was reinstated to the Vikings. In early 2017, he ended his decade long run with the ‘Minnesota Vikings’ and signed a two-year contract with ‘New Orleans Saints’.

Quick Facts

Also Known As: Adrian Lewis Peterson

Age: 40 Years, 40 Year Old Males

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Ashley Brown

father: Nelson Peterson

mother: Bonita Jackson

siblings: Brian Peterson, Derrick Peterson, Eldon Peterson, Jaylon Brown

children: Adeja Peterson, Tyrese Robert Ruffin

Born Country: United States

American Football Players American Men

Height: 6'1" (185 cm), 6'1" Males

Grouping of People: Black American Football Player

U.S. State: Texas

Notable Alumni: University Of Oklahoma

More Facts

education: University Of Oklahoma

Childhood & Early Life

Adrian Lewis was born on 21st March, 1985 in Palestine, Texas to Nelson Peterson and Bonita Brown. His father was a star basketball player and thus he too aspired to be an athlete.

He grew up in a Christian family. He had an elder brother named Brian who was also his confidant. Unfortunately, his brother was run over by a drunken truck driver at the age of seven.

The devastating incident shattered him and he turned to sports to overcome the loss of his best companion. He attended ‘Palestine High School’ and excelled in three sports – basketball, track races and football. However, in his later years football became his dominant interest.

He continued to win races such as the 200 and 100 meters and even came in as second runner up after Ivory Williams in the 100 meter dash ‘2004 World Junior Championship’.

Upon completing high school he sought admission to Oklahoma University. In his freshman year he played under the mentorship of Bob Stoops in the ‘Oklahoma Sooners’ football team.

He broke his first NCAA freshman record by crossing 1,925 yards amounting to a hundred yard record for each game. He faced a minor dislocation of his shoulder but ended the season with an NCAA record of the most 100-yard rushing records by a freshman.

Early Football Career

Adrian decided to drop out of his final year and entered the 2007 NFL Draft. On his entry to the league he was compared with great legends such as Eric Dickerson and Gale Sayers.

His early college injuries did pose a slight concern for a few teams. Nevertheless, he was chosen as the first running back that year by the Minnesota Vikings. He signed a contract worth 40.5 million dollars for a term of five years.

He played his debut match against St. Louis Rams in the year 2007. His performance was outstanding, and later he declared in a press-conference that he aimed to claim the title of ‘Offensive Rookie of the Year’.

He wasn’t far from his dream as he soon bagged the ‘NFL Offensive Rookie of the Month’ title and also achieved the most 100-yard rushing record of the season.

On 4th November 2007, his 296 yard rush and three touchdowns against ‘San Diego Chargers’ fortified his national football career. He also became the only rookie to cross 200 yards for the second time in the NFL history.

He played his first ‘Monday Night Football’ game on 17th December that year and made two touchdowns with 78 yards rushing and was evidently picked as the starting running back for the NFC ‘Pro Bowl Team’.

His outstanding performance at the 2008 NFL Pro Bowl, which included 129 yard rushing and two touchdowns, got him the ‘NFL Pro Bowl MVP’.

Career With Minnesota Vikings

Peterson’s career under Minnesota Vikings flourished. In the 2008 season his team began with a loss against Indianapolis Colts but went on to win the second match against Carolina Panthers.

His team won the next few matches against New Orleans Saints and Detroit Lions. By week 16, he held the leading rushing record of 13,11 yards and finished the season with 1760 yards.

In 2009, he made it for the second time to the ‘AP All-Pro’ team. Coach Brad Childress rendered huge responsibility to Peterson when he gave him a large number of carries. Not failing his coach in the 2009 season he crossed 917 rushing yards by week 10.

He had a tremendous 25 carries, 180 yards and 3 touchdowns against Cleveland Browns. Leading his team he defeated the Dallas Cowboys but unfortunately lost against the Saints at the ‘NFL Championship’.

The year 2010 brought with it plenty of success for Adrian. By the sixth week in the season he had made a career impacting rushing record of 5000 yards and went on to represent his team in the ‘Pro Bowl’. He was even voted as the third player overall in the ‘NFL Top 100 Players of 2011’.

In 2011, the Vikings renewed their contract with Peterson paying him a whooping 96 million dollars, making him the highest paid running back in all of NFL.

Recent Seasons

In 2014, he was suspended for child abuse accusations. Apparently, he was convicted of causing injury to his son with a tree branch and was thus suspended from the team with no pay that season.

The following season, he was reinstated into the league and returned to play with his team on 2nd June 2015. He opened the following season with a knee injury and underwent a surgery to repair a torn meniscus. The same year, he was made the active roster and accomplished six carries against the Indianapolis Colts. But later owing to his injury he was made a free agent in early 2017 by the Vikings.

However, on 25th April 2017 he was immediately signed for a two year contract with the New Orleans Saints for 7 million dollars and a signing bonus of 2.5 million dollars.

Awards & Achievements

In 2005, he was named the top high school player by the ‘College Football News’ and ‘Rivals.com’. In 2007, he made the most rushing yards in a single game with a 296 record against ‘San Diego Chargers’.

Amongst his several achievements he has made the most rushing yards in an 8 game period with a record of 1322 and is the only player after Eric Dickerson to be awarded the NFL MVP and NFL Rushing Champion in the same year in 2012.

He secured a 3,101 rushing yards record in the first 30 games of his professional career. It marked the third best running backs record after Eric Dickerson’s 3,600 yards and Jim Brown’s 3,144 yards.

He also became the fourth running back to lead the league in yards per game in the very first two seasons itself after Jim Brown, Earl Campbell and Erick Dickerson.

Personal Life & Legacy

Peterson’s father was arrested and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for laundering drug money. He also had a half-brother named Jaylon Brown who was murdered the night before he played at the NFL Combine.

He has six children of which one died at the age of two owing to a lethal assault by the boyfriend of his son’s mother.

Facts About Adrian Peterson

Adrian Peterson is known for his unique pre-game routine of eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich before every game.

He is a dedicated philanthropist, founding the Adrian Peterson Foundation to help at-risk youth.

He has a passion for fashion, often seen sporting stylish outfits off the field.

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