pfr-player-data

Fetch NFL player data from Pro Football Reference as JSON. ESM-only.

Install

npm install pfr-player-data

Methods

• getPlayerData(input: string): Promise<Object> — Full parsed page (bio, raw careerStats tables, awardsAndHonors, gameLogs, url).
• getSummaryPlayerData(input: string): Promise<Object> — Normalized career summary (name, position, careerStats by season + summary totals).
• searchPlayers(name: string): Promise<Array<SearchResult>> — Search by player name; returns an array of matches. Use each result’s id with getPlayerData(id) or getSummaryPlayerData(id).

Input (getPlayerData / getSummaryPlayerData): player id or full URL.

• Player id (PFR slug): 'BradTo00', 'PeteAd01', 'McNaDo00'
• Full URL: 'https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/B/BradTo00.htm'

API

getPlayerData(input) → Promise<Object>

Fetches the player page and returns the full parsed payload: bio, summary, careerStats (raw table arrays keyed by table id, e.g. rushing_and_receiving, passing), awardsAndHonors, gameLogs, url.

getSummaryPlayerData(input) → Promise<Object>

Uses getPlayerData and normalizes to a career summary: name, position, careerStats (structured by season type and category). Best for apps that need totals and a stable shape.

searchPlayers(name) → Promise<Array<SearchResult>>

Searches PFR by name (e.g. 'tom brady', 'adrian peterson'). Returns an array of results; use each result’s id with getPlayerData(id) or getSummaryPlayerData(id).

Return shape — each element is:

| Property | Type | Description | | ------------ | -------- | ----------- | | id | string | PFR player slug (e.g. 'BradTo00', 'PeteAd01'). | | name | string | Full name as on PFR. | | position | string | Position (e.g. 'QB', 'RB'). | | yearsActive| string | Career span as 'YYYY-YYYY' (e.g. '2000-2022'). | | teams | string[] | Sorted list of 2–3 letter team abbreviations (e.g. ['NWE', 'TAM']). |

Usage

import { getPlayerData, getSummaryPlayerData, searchPlayers } from 'pfr-player-data';

// Search by name, then fetch with chosen id
const results = await searchPlayers('tom brady');
// [{ id: 'BradTo00', name: 'Tom Brady', position: 'QB', yearsActive: '2000-2022', teams: ['NWE', 'TAM'] }]
const summary = await getSummaryPlayerData(results[0].id);

const multi = await searchPlayers('adrian peterson');
// Multiple results; pick by id, e.g. multi[1].id for PeteAd01
const other = await getSummaryPlayerData(multi[1].id);

// Or call directly with id / URL
const full = await getPlayerData('BradTo00');
const s = await getSummaryPlayerData('McNaDo00');

Summary response shape

getSummaryPlayerData returns:

{
  name: string;
  position: string;
  careerStats: {
    regularSeason: {
      passing: { passCmp?, passAtt?, passYds?, passTd?, passInt?, passCmpPct?, passYdsPerAtt?, passYdsPerCmp?, passYdsPerG?, comebacks?, gwd?, games?, gamesStarted?, av?, awards?, ... };
      rushingReceiving: { games?, gamesStarted?, rushAtt?, rushYds?, rushTd?, rec?, recYds?, recTd?, touches?, ydsFromScrimmage?, rushReceiveTd?, fumbles?, av?, awards?, ... };
      teams: string[];
    };
    postSeason: {
      passing: { ... };      // same keys as regularSeason.passing
      rushingReceiving: { ... };
      teams: string[];
    };
    allSeason: {
      passing: { ... };     // cumulative (reg + post)
      rushingReceiving: { ... };
      teams: string[];
    };
    summary: {
      tdsAll: number;      // tdsRush + tdsRec + tdsPass
      tdsRush: number;
      tdsRec: number;
      tdsPass: number;
      ydsAll: number;      // ydsRush + ydsRec + ydsPass
      ydsRush: number;
      ydsRec: number;
      ydsPass: number;
    };
  };
}

• Passing is populated from the PFR passing table (QBs); rushingReceiving from the rushing & receiving table. Missing categories are {}.
• summary values are derived from allSeason (regular + postseason combined).

Example output

{
  "name": "Adrian Peterson",
  "position": "RB",
  "careerStats": {
    "regularSeason": {
      "passing": {},
      "rushingReceiving": {
        "games": 184,
        "gamesStarted": 167,
        "rushAtt": 3230,
        "rushYds": 14918,
        "rushTd": 120,
        "rec": 305,
        "recYds": 2474,
        "recTd": 6,
        "touches": 3535,
        "ydsFromScrimmage": 17392,
        "rushReceiveTd": 126,
        "fumbles": 49,
        "av": 129
      },
      "teams": ["ARI", "DET", "MIN", "NOR", "SEA", "TEN", "WAS"]
    },
    "postSeason": { "passing": {}, "rushingReceiving": { ... }, "teams": [] },
    "allSeason": { "passing": {}, "rushingReceiving": { ... }, "teams": [] },
    "summary": {
      "tdsAll": 131,
      "tdsRush": 125,
      "tdsRec": 6,
      "tdsPass": 0,
      "ydsAll": 17858,
      "ydsRush": 15330,
      "ydsRec": 2528,
      "ydsPass": 0
    }
  }
}

Notes

• ESM only. Use import; no CommonJS support.
• Not affiliated with Sports Reference LLC. Data is scraped from public pages.
• Use reasonable request frequency and caching; respect PFR terms of use.

License

ISC