Christopher Duan Johnson was born on September 23, 1985. He is a former American football running back who grew up in Orlando, Florida. During his senior year at East Carolina University, he had 2,960 all-purpose yards and scored 24 touchdowns. Johnson was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the first round of the 2008 NFL draft after running a record-setting 4.24-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine.
Age
Chris was born on September 23, 1985, in Orlando, Florida, United States. He is 40 years old.
Profile Summary
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Name | Chris Johnson |
| Position | Running Back |
| Date of Birth | September 23, 1985 (age 40) |
| Place of Birth | Orlando, Florida, U.S. |
| Listed Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Listed Weight | 203 lb (92 kg) |
Career Information
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| High School | Olympia (Orlando) |
| College | East Carolina (2004–2007) |
| NFL Draft | 2008: 1st Round, 24th Overall Pick |
Career History
| Years | Team |
|---|---|
| 2008–2013 | Tennessee Titans |
| 2014 | New York Jets |
| 2015–2017 | Arizona Cardinals |
Awards and Highlights
| Award / Achievement | Year(s) |
|---|---|
| NFL Offensive Player of the Year | 2009 |
| First-team All-Pro | 2009 |
| Pro Bowl | 2008, 2009, 2010 |
| NFL Rushing Yards Leader | 2009 |
| PFWA All-Rookie Team | 2008 |
| C-USA Special Teams Player of the Year | 2007 |
| First-team All-C-USA | 2006, 2007 |
NFL Record
| Record | Details |
|---|---|
| Most Yards from Scrimmage in a Season | 2,509 yards (2009) |
Career NFL Statistics
| Statistic | Total |
|---|---|
| Rushing Yards | 9,651 |
| Rushing Average | 4.5 |
| Rushing Touchdowns | 55 |
| Receptions | 307 |
| Receiving Yards | 2,255 |
| Receiving Touchdowns | 9 |
Biography
Johnson was born in Orlando, Florida, on September 23, 1985. He played football at Olympia High School. Rivals.com rated him as a two-star recruit and listed him among the nation’s top running backs in 2004. He considered East Carolina, Western Kentucky, USF, and UConn.
Johnson was also a standout track athlete at Olympia High School. As a senior, he finished second in the 100 meters at the 2004 Florida 4A state championships behind Walter Dix. He posted personal bests of 10.38 seconds in the 100 meters and 21.28 seconds in the 200 meters, ranking 24th fastest nationally in 2004.
As a junior, Johnson qualified for the Florida State meet finals with a preliminary time of 10.83 seconds. He placed fourth with a time of 10.66 seconds and anchored the 4 × 100-meter relay team that won the Golden South and Golden West National Championships.
Johnson’s personal bests are 10.38 seconds in the 100 meters and 21.28 seconds in the 200 meters.
Career highlights
Awards and honors
NFL
- NFL Offensive Player of the Year (2009)
- First-team All-Pro (2009)
- 3× Pro Bowl (2008–2010)
- NFL rushing yards leader (2009)
- PFWA All-Rookie Team (2008)
- FedEx Ground Player of the Year (2009)
College
- C-USA Special Teams POY (2007)
- 2× First-team All-C-USA (2006, 2007)
Other honors
Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame (2024)
NFL records
- Only player in NFL history with a touchdown of 50 yards, 60 yards, and 90 yards in one game. (a 57-yard rush, a 69-yard reception, and a 91-yard rush during Week 2 against the Texans, 2009)
- Most total scrimmage yards in one single season: 2,509 (2009)
- Most total scrimmage yards in one month: 968 (November 2009)
- Only player in NFL history with 6 touchdown runs of over 80 yards (80, 83, 85, 89, 91, 94). No other player has more than four.
- Only player in NFL history with 4 touchdown runs of over 85 yards (85, 89, 91, 94).
- Only player in NFL history to run for three 80-yard touchdown runs in a single season on more than one occasion (2009, 2012).
- First player in NFL history with 6 consecutive games of 125+ rushing yards and a 5.0+ yards per carry average (Breaking Jim Brown’s record set in 1958 of five consecutive games).
- First player in NFL history with at least 1,900 rushing yards and 400 receiving yards in the same season (2009)
- First player in NFL history with at least 1,900 rushing yards and 50 receptions in the same season (2009)
- Second most consecutive games rushing for more than 100 yards (12, October 18, 2009 – September 12, 2010; first is Barry Sanders with 14).
- One of two players to have 2,000 rushing yard in a season but under 10,000 in a career (other is Terrell Davis).
Television appearances
In 2013, Johnson appeared on an episode of Ink Master as a special guest judge.
Before the 2013 NFL season, Johnson participated in the National Geographic’s “Man v. Cheetah” documentary. On the show Johnson raced a cheetah on a 220-foot-long course with a wall separating them. The cheetah won.
Personal Life and Health
In the early morning of March 8, 2015, Johnson was shot in the shoulder during a drive-by in Orlando, Florida, in which the driver of the vehicle, Dreekius Oricko Johnson, was killed. Reggie Johnson, who also was in the car, sustained injuries to the shoulder, leg, and hand.
In 2025, Johnson was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). By the time he made the diagnosis public, in a June 29, 2026, interview on Good Morning America with Michael Strahan, the disease had progressed to the point he had to use a speech-producing device to talk.
Net Worth
His net worth is estimated at $14 million.
