Portrait of Adrian Peterson

Birthday profile

Adrian Peterson

Adrian Peterson, American football player

Born
March 21, 1985
Age in 2026
41
Zodiac sign
Aries
Birth year
1985

About Adrian Peterson

Adrian Lewis Peterson (né Brown; born March 21, 1985) is an American former professional football running back. Peterson played 15 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He is widely considered to be one of the greatest running backs in football history. He played college football for the Oklahoma Sooners, setting the freshman rushing record with 1,925 yards in 2004. Named a unanimous All-American that year, he became the first freshman to finish as a runner-up in the Heisman Trophy balloting. Peterson finished his college career as the Sooners' third-all-time leading rusher. He was selected by the Minnesota Vikings seventh overall in the 2007 NFL draft. As a rookie, he set an NFL record for the most rushing yards in a single game (296) and was named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. He was then named the MVP for his performance in the Pro Bowl, and became only the fifth player in NFL history to gain more than 3,000 yards through his first two seasons. In 2010, he became the fifth-soonest player to run for 5,000 yards, doing so in his 51st game. Peterson tore both his anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in a game in late 2011. Despite that, he returned by the start of the 2012 season, and ended it with 2,097 rushing yards, just nine yards shy of breaking Eric Dickerson's single-season record. For his efforts, he received the NFL MVP Award, the most recent nonquarterback to win the award. In 2013, Peterson became the third-soonest player to reach 10,000 rushing yards in NFL history. In 2014, Peterson was indicted by a grand jury in Texas on charges of reckless or negligent injury to a child that occurred earlier that year, and was suspended for the rest of the season. A free agent coming into the 2017 season, Peterson signed a two-year contract with the New Orleans Saints, but was traded to the Arizona Cardinals midseason before being released following the season's end. Following that, Peterson played for the Washington Redskins, Detroit Lions, Tennessee Titans, and Seattle Seahawks.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

The world when Adrian Peterson was born

Adrian Peterson was born in 1985. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1985

  • #1 song"We Are the World" – USA for Africa
  • Top movieOut of Africa
  • Top TV showThe Cosby Show
  • Best-selling bookThe Handmaid's Tale – Margaret Atwood

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentMichael Jordan named NBA Rookie of the Year
  • Top headlineLive Aid concert raises awareness for African famine
  • Technology milestoneNintendo NES released in the US
  • Defining fadNintendo NES
  • Notable inventionNintendo Entertainment System (NES) launches in US
  • World population4.85 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderRonald Reagan
  • Sports championKansas City Royals (World Series)
  • Also wonLos Angeles Lakers (NBA)
  • U.S. population237.9M

1985 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Adrian Peterson's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19852026
Gas$1.12$3.45/gal
Average home$75,500$435,000
Average income$27,735$67,500
Minimum wage$3.35$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$3.55$11.95
Postage stamp$0.22$0.73
Population237.9M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, NFL. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.