Report: Adrian Peterson Must Accept Huge Paycut if He Wants to Stay in Minnesota

The Minnesota Vikings want to keep Adrian Peterson, so long as they don’t have to pay him all the money they technically owe him.

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That is the big takeaway from this morning’s Star Tribune report via the venerable Sid Hartman. Per Hartman, the Vikings want Peterson back but only if he is willing to accept a greatly reduced salary.

How much reduction are we talking about? It’s believed the Vikings are seeking to cut Peterson’s contract at least in half. He is currently owed $13 million in 2015, $15 million in 2016 and $16 million in 2017.

It’s important to keep in mind that Peterson has already been paid the $36 million in guaranteed money contained in the deal. So the Vikings CAN just cut him.

That the Vikings don’t want to cut him would seem to indicate they are sincere in their belief that Peterson is still not only a valuable player but a potential marketing asset. It will take some time for the stain of those child abuse allegations to wear away, however.

In addition to surrendering at least half of what he is owed in the future, Peterson’s punishment by the NFL will reportedly force him to give up some of the money he was paid this season while waiting on the exempt list.

The Star Trib report also says that the NFL will lift Peterson’s April 15th reinstatement deadline so the Vikings can renegotiate his contract before the draft.

If Peterson chooses not to renegotiate, the Vikings can cut him loose and let him hit the market. League sources say Peterson, if he does hit the market, will be lucky to get even half what he is currently making. So, coming back to the Vikings might be his best option financially.

The report adds that the Vikings are not currently seeking to trade Peterson.

For the Vikings, the agenda here is pretty obvious: use Peterson’s troubles to leverage him into a new deal that is much more advantageous to the team. The deal as currently structured is a huge burden for the club especially when you take Peterson’s age and baggage into account.

If Peterson ends up playing out his contract, some will applaud the Vikings for staying “loyal” to him. But is it really loyalty if you cynically exploit a man’s personal problems to make him take less money?