Adrian Peterson won’t be eliciting any awkward cheers from Minnesota Vikings fans this season after an arbitrator upheld his season-long suspension and ruled in favor of the NFL. Barring a succesful appeal in federal court the former MVP will now have to wait until the middle of April to seek reinstatement, but according to a new interview with ESPN, the 29-year-old Peterson is contemplating retirement:
“I’ve considered retiring from the NFL,” Peterson said. “I still made $8 million dollars this year. I’ve thought about getting back into the real estate (business in Texas) I’m already in. That’s something I’ve been interested in, something I’m involved in. I’ve thought about getting back into that. I’ve thought about going after the Olympics — you only live once. It might be time for me to pursue that, as well. I love playing football, don’t get me wrong, but this situation is deeper than that. For me, it’s like, ‘Why should I continue to be a part of an organization or a business that handles players the way they do? Making money off the field anyway, why not continue to pursue that (Olympic) dream and pursue other dreams and hang up the cleats?'”
According to a person with direct knowledge of the situation, a lawsuit will be filed against the NFL on Peterson’s behalf in federal court in Minnesota as early as Monday. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the lawsuit had not yet been filed.
Peterson said he’s interested in competing in the 200- and 400-meter dashes in the Olympics, adding, “I’ve seriously thought about this real hard. I continue to pray about it, but it’s been something that has been heavy, heavy on my heart.
“Of course I’d miss it. It’s my first love. But the reason I would be walking away from it would be (if the next steps in the process) kind of solidify that hurt from these incidents. I would know that, ‘Hey, you’re walking away not because you’ve given up. You’re walking away because they’re handling you all the way wrong in this situation. They’re painting you out to be a guy that you’re not.”
Peterson pleaded “no contest” to a charge of misdemeanor reckless assault after inuring his 4-year-old son with a switch.
As I said, Peterson is 29 and a former league MVP. He’s also only two season away from a 2,000-yard rushing campaign, so his use of the word “retirement” is initially surprising, but even if Peterson were to return to the NFL next season, it’s possible that he could be cut by the Vikings, who have already paid out the guaranteed portion of his deal.
If Peterson does get cut then he will go into the open market as a then 30-year-old half back with more than 2,000 carries on his odometer and both a lost season and this controversy immediately in his rear-view. Though I’m almost certain that Peterson could be a solid running back for another couple of seasons, his ruminations about retirement make some sense when you ponder the difference between the remaining $43 million on his current deal and what he might get as a free agent.
As Peterson said, he made $8 million this season and he’s already pulled in more than $71 million over the course of his career. That’s to say nothing about his earnings from endorsement deals over the span of his career to this point, so with all of that, maybe Peterson will simply decide that the juice just isn’t worth the squeeze anymore. Or, maybe Peterson will decide that he wants to go after the league in court to try to recoup some of his lost earnings while he trains to pursue his Olympic dream. I don’t know, all I know is that this saga isn’t anywhere near over.
(Source: ESPN)
