Todd Gurley

Gurley attended Tarboro High School in Tarboro, North Carolina, where he competed in football, basketball, and track and field. During his junior season with the Tarboro Vikings, he recorded 1,472 rushing yards and 26 touchdowns, adding 79 tackles, an interception, and a forced fumble on defense. As a senior in 2011, he rushed for 2,600 yards and 38 touchdowns, earning North Carolina Associated Press Player of the Year honors while leading Tarboro to the 2A state championship with a 242-yard, four-touchdown performance in the title game.

Outside of high school football, Gurley established himself as an elite sprinter and hurdler. He represented Team USA at the 2011 World Youth Championships in Athletics in the 110-meter hurdles, running a personal best of 13.66 seconds in the preliminary round. Rated as a four-star recruit and the fifth-best running back in the country by Rivals.com, he committed to the University of Georgia under head coach Mark Richt.

Gurley made an immediate impact as a true freshman during Georgia's 2012 season. In his collegiate debut against Buffalo, he rushed for 100 yards and scored three touchdowns, including a 100-yard kickoff return. He became only the second true freshman in program history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season, joining Herschel Walker, and finished the year with 1,385 rushing yards and 17 rushing touchdowns on 222 carries to earn first-team All-SEC honors.

As a sophomore in 2013, Gurley expanded his role as a pass catcher, producing 989 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns along with 37 receptions for 441 yards and six receiving touchdowns in 10 games, earning second-team All-SEC selection. His 2014 junior campaign opened with a 198-yard rushing game against Clemson, but his season was interrupted by a four-game NCAA suspension regarding signed memorabilia. In his first game back on November 15, 2014, against Auburn, he suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament that ended his college career. Gurley finished his time at Georgia with 3,285 rushing yards and 36 rushing touchdowns, ranking second in school history in both categories at the time.

The St. Louis Rams selected Gurley in the first round with the 10th overall pick in the 2015 NFL draft, making him the first running back selected that year. After recovering from his college knee injury, he made his NFL debut in Week 3 and rushed for 566 yards across his first four starts, setting an AFL-NFL merger record for the most prolific start to a career. He completed his rookie campaign with 1,106 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns in 12 starts, earning a Pro Bowl selection and the AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award.

Under new head coach Sean McVay in 2017, Gurley delivered a career year as the focal point of the Los Angeles offense. He led the NFL in total scrimmage yards with 2,093, rushing touchdowns with 13, and total touchdowns with 19, along with leading non-kickers in scoring with 114 points. For his performance, he received AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year honors and was named a first-team All-Pro. In July 2018, he signed a four-year, $60 million contract extension with the Rams, then led the league with 17 rushing touchdowns during the 2018 regular season before knee inflammation curtailed his workload in the postseason and Super Bowl LIII. The Rams released him in March 2020.

In April 2020, Gurley signed a one-year, $5.5 million contract with the Atlanta Falcons. During the 2020 season, he appeared in 15 games, recording 195 carries for 678 rushing yards and nine touchdowns while sharing the backfield with Brian Hill and Ito Smith.

After remaining unsigned throughout the 2021 season, Gurley formally confirmed his retirement from professional football in October 2022. He concluded his career with 6,082 rushing yards, 67 rushing touchdowns, and 12 receiving touchdowns across 88 regular-season games. His 79 career touchdowns stand as the highest total in NFL history for any player who appeared in fewer than 100 regular-season games.

In May 2022, Gurley entered sports team ownership by joining the ownership group of the FCF Beasts in the Fan Controlled Football league. Throughout his playing career, he also represented major commercial brands, including featured advertising campaigns for Hulu, Gatorade, and Carl's Jr.

Gurley co-founded the M.A.D.E. Sports Foundation to support character-building programs through athletics in local communities. Following his 2017 season, fantasy football participants joined a fundraising campaign supporting his preferred charity, Shriners Hospitals for Children, which generated more than $10,000 in contributions. He also partnered with Pizza Hut and First Book in 2018 to host childhood literacy programs for elementary school students.