Load a dataframe of player-level information, including IDs and other mostly-immutable data (birthdates, college, draft position etc.)
Usage
load_players(file_type = getOption("nflreadr.prefer", default = "rds"))
Details
Contribute
Please visit https://github.com/nflverse/nflverse-players/blob/master/.github/CONTRIBUTING.md for a detailed explanation how to contribute (or correct) players data.
Scope of Players Dataset
The nflverse players dataset aims to be the single source of truth when it comes to NFL player IDs across various sources (relevant to the nflverse). The following source IDs and information are considered in-scope of the nflverse players dataset:
Basic player information e.g. name, height, weight, age, date of birth, years experience, college, status, position, headshot image (mostly from GSIS)
Draft information: draft year, draft round, draft pick, draft team (from PFR)
PFF position and status information
Primary source IDs from:
NFL (
gsis_id
,smart_id
) -gsis_id
is the primary keyPro Football Reference (
pfr_id
)Pro Football Focus (
pff_id
)Over The Cap (
otc_id
)Elias Sports Bureau (
esb_id
)ESPN (
espn_id
)
See also
Issues with this data should be filed here: https://github.com/nflverse/nflverse-players.
dictionary_players
for the data dictionary as bundled within the package
Examples
# \donttest{
try({ # prevents cran errors
load_players()
})
#> ── nflverse nflverse Players Data ──────────────────────────────────────────────
#> ℹ Data updated: 2025-07-28 08:31:14 UTC
#> # A tibble: 24,511 × 39
#> gsis_id display_name common_first_name first_name last_name short_name
#> <chr> <chr> <chr> <chr> <chr> <chr>
#> 1 00-0028830 Isaako Aaitui Isaako Isaako Aaitui NA
#> 2 00-0038389 Israel Abanikan… Israel Israel Abanikan… I.Abanika…
#> 3 00-0024644 Jon Abbate Jon Jon Abbate NA
#> 4 ABB498348 Vince Abbott Vince Vincent Abbott NA
#> 5 00-0031021 Jared Abbrederis Jared Jared Abbreder… J.Abbrede…
#> 6 00-0032860 Mehdi Abdesmad Mehdi Mehdi Abdesmad M.Abdesmad
#> 7 00-0028564 Isa Abdul-Quddus Isa Isa Abdul-Qu… NA
#> 8 00-0032104 Ameer Abdullah Ameer Ameer Abdullah A.Abdullah
#> 9 00-0023663 Hamza Abdullah Hamza Hamza Abdullah NA
#> 10 00-0025940 Husain Abdullah Husain Husain Abdullah NA
#> # ℹ 24,501 more rows
#> # ℹ 33 more variables: football_name <chr>, suffix <chr>, esb_id <chr>,
#> # nfl_id <chr>, pfr_id <chr>, pff_id <chr>, otc_id <chr>, espn_id <chr>,
#> # smart_id <chr>, birth_date <chr>, position_group <chr>, position <chr>,
#> # ngs_position_group <chr>, ngs_position <chr>, height <int>, weight <int>,
#> # headshot <chr>, college_name <chr>, college_conference <chr>,
#> # jersey_number <chr>, rookie_season <int>, last_season <int>, …
# }