While the internet can be a vast resource of information, it isn’t always accurate. Indianapolis Colts cornerback Sauce Gardner has had to weirdly deal with this problem as of late. His own mother was confused as to why everyone showed the wrong age, knowing that she had given birth to him on August 31, 2001. Once and for all, Gardner set the record straight.

“I’m 24!” the cornerback told The Athletic’s James Boyd after the Colts wrapped up the last day of their minicamp. “It’s crazy that I’m even being asked this.”

When the reporter pressed him if he was sure about his claims, Gardner answered with a “yes” and encouraged the media to ask his mother if they still didn’t believe him.

Per Gardner, August 31, 2001 is the date listed in his driver’s license, passport, and the official documents he submitted to the University of Cincinnati. Yet, a massive chunk of the football world believed that Gardner’s date of birth was in the year 2000. 

The confusion seemingly stems from a uniform error across some of the most trusted databases in sports. The list includes Pro Football Reference, ESPN, and The Athletic’s 2022 NFL Draft Guide. Even EA Sports’ flagship football video game, Madden NFL, listed Gardner’s birth year as 2000. 

“It’s wrong in Madden, too? That’s crazy because I never checked,” Gardner noted. “Because when it comes to the paperwork and everything I’ve signed, it all says ’01. So, I don’t know where or how it got messed up unless people just get it straight from Google… You can’t believe everything you see on the internet. You just can’t.” 

Now, the sources have corrected the dates. Wikipedia’s personal information and early life section on Gardner now list his birthday as 31 August 2001. 

It’s possible that Wikipedia’s initial error pushed the wrong date directly onto search engine answer boxes. And that led people to believe in the mistake. For The Athletic’s mistake, Boyd clarified that the writer sourced the information from a Sports Reference representative. The source also revealed that NFL’s 2025 Record and Fact Book had the wrong information. 

But what do the NFL’s higher-ups have to say about it?

Brian McCarthy issues a clarification around Sauce Gardner’s age

“Clubs notify us of any incorrect birthdates that would have appeared on their college sites when a player signs,” Brian McCarthy, the NFL’s chief spokesman, wrote in an email sent to The Athletic. “Players also self-verify their birthdates and other personal information through a player portal.”  

A one-year difference in age might seem trivial for an average fan. But it’s an important factor when it comes to evaluating a cornerback. It’s a position that needs the players to be twitchy and athletic, making the CBs age faster than others. In short, a CB’s prime physical window is pretty narrow. The correct age becomes an even more important factor when it comes to contract negotiations.

Gardner signed his four-year, $120.4 million extension in 2025, having turned 24 only months prior.

Nevertheless, Gardner is still young and has a much longer list of high-priority tasks to tackle than sulking over a wrong date on the internet.  But for now, his primary focus is on the gridiron.