Adrian Peterson loses appeal over pay during NFL suspension
By Adam Carlson
An appeals court ruled against Minnesota Vikings running back when it comes to a dispute over pay during his suspension from the National Football League.
It feels like quite a while ago that Adrian Peterson was sitting at home watching the Minnesota Vikings play football. During his 2014 suspension stemming from a misdemeanor reckless assault plea, the idea of how many games the star running back would lose pay for was a major topic of discussion by the NFL.
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That dispute may have come to an end today according to an article on the FOX Sports website. An appeals court has ruled in favor of the NFL to uphold an agreement made between arbiters on behalf of the league and the star running back that were previously made. Based on that ruling, Peterson will need to pay back six regular season games worth of pay.
The ruling from the appeals court takes precedence over an earlier appeal made to U.S. District Judge David Doty where it was declared that arbitrator Harold Henderson overreached his authority. The three-judge panel restored the original agreement between the league and the NFLPA.
While it may not sound like much money at first, having to repay six games worth of salary at a very high cost like Adrian Peterson’s is more money than many people may make in a lifetime. NFL insider Ian Rapoport did the math on Twitter and found that it will be a couple million dollars coming out of Peterson’s pocket.
With today's court ruling #Vikings RB Adrian Peterson owes MIN three game checks from the '14 season, which (I think) = $2.0M #math #fixed
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 4, 2016
This ruling does not have any impact on Adrian Peterson’s availability with the Minnesota Vikings for the 2016 NFL season. The league’s leading rusher from the 2015 will be on the field for action, as there is no requirement for him to repay the money earned during the suspension before he can participate.
Next: Vikings game-by-game 2016 season preview
Peterson and the Minnesota Vikings move into U.S. Bank Stadium for the 2016 NFL season, where they will attempt to improve upon a successful 2015 effort. The team’s offense will rely heavily on the star running back to help make their team a more balanced threat this year.