The Vikings Would Be Insane to Give Adrian Peterson More Money

Adrian Peterson newsflow has taken a backseat to other NFL offseason craziness over the past couple days, but it’s worth discussing now because his situation with the Vikings will reportedly come to a head soon. There are four possibilities: Peterson gets traded, gets a new contract, is released or remains unhappy. Peterson’s $12.75 million salary is now apparently not satisfactory, after a tremendous amount of revisionist history from his camp.

In an interview with ESPN last month, Peterson said that he was “uneasy about a lot of things that took place within the organization,” and the next day, Ian Rapoport tweeted that Peterson “wants a fresh start.” However, Rapoport added later in the week that the Vikings guaranteeing part of the running back’s salary in 2016 would “go a long way” toward mending the relationship. The running back’s agent apparently scuffled with a Vikings executive at the Combine. Peterson’s met with Vikings brass twice in the past week and leaks like this one imply that everything is not hunky dory:

It doesn’t seem like Adrian Peterson should have leverage here, though. He missed most of last season for disciplining his son with a switch, for which he pled guilty to a misdemeanor. He later told USA Today’s Tom Pelissero that he would never use a switch again. He played in just one game this past season, and had showed signs of decline in 2013. Though he averaged a respectable 4.5 yards per carry that year, it was substantially less than the six yards per rush he’d had the season before. He turns 30 later this month.

So what bargaining power does he have to make demands? Why is Minnesota hamstrung by Buffalo’s needlessly extending LeSean McCoy? The Vikings hold Peterson’s rights and can sit on them, and any distraction that he could wield by holding out or demanding a trade would pale in comparison to the one caused by his indictment last season. He needs the money from his contract a lot more than the team needs him in training camp. If they can trade him for an acceptable return, great. But they don’t have to release him or give him a raise.

Going back to the part about how Peterson purportedly feels betrayed by the Vikings: This doesn’t make any sense. If you’ll recall, this was the timeline last September:

• September 12: Peterson gets indicted on charges of reckless or negligent injury to a child.
• September 12: The Vikings deactivate Peterson for the game in two days, in the immediate aftermath of that news.
• September 15: Peterson returns to the team. Owners Mark and Zygi Wilf issue a statement saying that the running back “will fully participate in this week’s practices and meetings and is expected to play this Sunday in New Orleans.”
• September 15: News emerges that Peterson was also previously investigated (and not charged) for allegedly leaving a scar over a different son’s eye.
• September 16: After team general manager Rick Spielman held a disastrous press conference in front of a Radisson banner, the hotel chain suspended their sponsorship with the Vikings.
• September 16: Anheuser-Busch issues an ominous statement: “We are disappointed and increasingly concerned by the recent incidents that have overshadowed this NFL season. We are not yet satisfied with the league’s handling of behaviors that so clearly go against our own company culture and moral code. We have shared our concerns and expectations with the league.”
• September 17: The Vikings reverse course, and place Peterson on the Exempt/Commissioner’s Permission list.
• September 17: Nike suspends Peterson’s endorsement contract.

To recap, the Vikings did about everything they could to try to bring back Peterson, but could not do so because a tidal wave of public outrage (and this was also in the middle of everything involving Ray Rice and Greg Hardy) led sponsors to pull out from the team and threaten the league. As is evidenced by the neverending courtroom battles over Peterson’s reinstatement, the league office was prepared to do everything in its power to prevent Peterson from returning to the field last season. He can blame himself and/or Roger Goodell for that situation, but the Vikings’ hands were tied.