College career

James was recruited out of Florida's Immokalee High School by the University of Miami. He proved to be one of the most successful running backs in the school's history.

James ranks third in all-time University of Miami rushing yards. He was the only running back in the university's history to post two consecutive seasons with 1,000-plus rushing yards, and he ranks first in school history with the most 100-plus rushing games (14). All single season records held by James have since been broken by former Cleveland Browns running back Willis McGahee.

Edgerrin was inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame on April 23, 2009 at its 41st Annual Induction Banquet at Jungle Island in Miami.

Professional career

1999 NFL Draft

The Indianapolis Colts selected James in the first round of the 1999 NFL Draft with the fourth overall pick. James signed a seven-year, $49 million rookie contract. Some critics believed that the Colts made a mistake by choosing James over the reigning Heisman Trophy winner Ricky Williams, but he proved to be the right choice for the Colts offense.

Pre-draft measurables

Ht	Wt	40-yd dash	10-yd split	20-yd split	20-ss	3-cone	Vert	Broad	BP	Wonderlic
6 ft 0 in	216 lb	4.38 s	1.49 s	2.54 s	3.88 s	6.87 s				19

Indianapolis Colts

James quieted the critics and was an immediate success, and was named the 1999 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year by the Associated Press. James won the NFL rushing title in his first two seasons. He's the most recent player to win the NFL rushing title in his rookie season. Six games into the 2001 season, he tore his ACL. After the 2002 season, where James failed to regain his form of 1999 and 2000, many believed that James would never recover from his knee injury.

However, James rebounded well in 2003, and re-established his place as one of the top running backs in the NFL in 2004 and 2005, with over 1,500 rushing yards in both seasons.

James left Indianapolis as their all time leading rusher with 9,226 yards. James was given a Super Bowl ring from the Colts after he left the team in 2006, when they won Super Bowl XLI.

On September 23, 2012, James was inducted into the Indianapolis Colts Ring of Honor during the week 3 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Arizona Cardinals

James signed a four-year, $30 million deal with the Arizona Cardinals on March 23, 2006. James went through a stretch of 10 games out of the 2008 season where he carried the ball only 20 times. Through this time, Ken Whisenhunt brought him in strictly as a pass protector. In Week 17 against the Seattle Seahawks, James carried the ball 14 times for 100 yards. James said he would not come back to Arizona following the 2009 NFL playoffs, despite a year left on his contract. In the Cardinals' first playoff game since 1998, James averaged 4.7 yards per carry and ran for 100 yards. In the Divisional round of the playoffs, James rushed for 57 yards and a touchdown in the Cardinals' upset victory over the heavily favored Carolina Panthers. James rushed for 73 yards in the Cardinals' 32-25 win over the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship game. James rushed 9 times for 33 yards in the Cardinals' 27-23 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLIII.

His long-time girlfriend, the mother of his children, died of cancer in April 2009. After this, he asked for his release from the team, and the Cardinals honored his request on April 28.

Seattle Seahawks

After spending the 2009 offseason grieving with his four children and declining NFL offers, James finally agreed to a one-year, $2 million contract with the Seattle Seahawks on August 24, 2009, missing the team's training camp. The team released running back T. J. Duckett to make room for James on the roster. However, James rushed for only 125 yards on a career-low 46 carries. He played in only seven games, and on November 3, 2009, Seattle cut him from the team.

On July 26, 2011, James announced his retirement from football.

Colts franchise records

• Most career rushing yards (9,226)
• Most career rushing touchdowns (64)
• Best career rushing yards per game average: 96.1
• Most rushing yards in a single season: 1,709 (2000)
• Most seasons with 1,000 rushing yards (5)

NFL Records

• Fastest player to gain 3,000 yards from scrimmage (22 GP)
• Fastest player to gain 4,000 yards from scrimmage (30 GP)- tied with Eric Dickerson
• Fastest player to gain 5,000 yards from scrimmage (36 GP)
• Fastest player to gain 6,000 yards from scrimmage (44 GP)
• Fastest player to gain 9,000 yards from scrimmage (72 GP)- tied with LaDainian Tomlinson
• Fastest player to gain 10,000 yards from scrimmage (78 GP)
• Fastest player to gain 11,000 yards from scrimmage (87 GP)
• Fastest player to gain 12,000 yards from scrimmage (95 GP)- tied with LaDainian Tomlinson
• Youngest player to gain 2,000 yards from scrimmage- 21 years, 147 days
• Youngest player to gain 3,000 yards from scrimmage- 22 years, 75 days
• Youngest player to gain 4,000 yards from scrimmage- 22 years, 132 days
• Youngest player to gain 5,000 yards from scrimmage- 23 years, 74 days
• Youngest player to gain 10,000 yards from scrimmage- 26 years, 133 days
• Youngest player to gain 11,000 yards from scrimmage- 27 years, 77 days
• Youngest player to gain 12,000 yards from scrimmage- 27 years, 139 days

Professional statistics

Year	Team	G	ATT	Yards	AVG	LG	TD	REC	Yards	AVG	LG	TD
1999	IND	16	369	1,553	4.2	72	13
2000	IND	16	387	1,709	4.4	30	13
2001	IND	6	151	662	4.4	29	3
2002	IND	14	277	989	3.6	20	2
2003	IND	13	310	1,259	4.1	43	11
2004	IND	16	334	1,548	4.6	40	9
2005	IND	15	360	1,506	4.2	33	13
2006	ARI	16	337	1,159	3.4	18	6
2007	ARI	16	324	1,222	3.8	27	7
2008	ARI	13	133	514	3.9	35	3
2009	SEA	7	46	125	2.7	10	0
Tot.	N/A	148	3,028	12,246	4.0	72	80

Personal

James currently resides in Miami, Florida. He has six children: Edquisha, Emani, Eyahna, Edgerrin Jr., Euro and Eden. On April 14, 2009, Andia Wilson, James' long-time girlfriend and the mother of his four children, died from leukemia at the age of 30.

In 2000, James donated $250,000 to the University of Miami, the largest donation ever made to the university by one of its former athletes. The university responded by naming the football meeting room after him.

James appeared in the music video for Trick Daddy's songs Nann, Take It To Da House, and Shut Up. He was also the spokesman and cover athlete for the football video game ESPN NFL Primetime 2002.

James has been consecutively nominated to the NFL Hall of Fame: 2014 and 2015.

As of 2015, Edgerrin's net worth is estimated to be at $50 million.

He also has a non-profit foundation targeted towards the betterment of children: www.edgerrinjamesfoundation.org.

He is the cousin of NFL running backs Javarris James and Mike James.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]