One day after Adrian Peterson insisted that his absence from Vikings OTAs had "nothing to do with wanting to be traded," the All-Pro running back made it crystal clear on Thursday what has him miffed.
Taking to Twitter, Peterson unleashed a rant centered around his seven-year, $96 million contract, which runs through 2017.
"I love people who think they know it all!," Peterson wrote. "Smh, Research how many NFL teams hasn't honored a player's contract & learn something. Question for the people, is a contract two sided or one? Ok great two sided! Well why when one party decides ... Mr. ? we wan't you to take a pay cut now or better yet flat out release you! There's never no talk about honoring a contract!"
The Vikings have every intention of paying Peterson the $12.75 million he's due in 2015. A.P.'s concern is 2016, according to NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport. With no guaranteed money left in his deal, the six-time Pro Bowler wants financial assurances beyond this season.
"I know hundreds of player's that wished their team would've HONORED the contract! But instead got threw to the side like like trash," Peterson went on. "A lill crazy how one side has so much power that they can do as they please when it come to the contract!"
Peterson spent all but one game of last season serving a suspension stemming from his no-contest plea on what the league called "an incident of abusive discipline" toward his 4-year-old son. Amid reports that A.P. now wants out of Minnesota, coach Mike Zimmer made it clear on Wednesday that Peterson's only options are playing for the Vikings or retiring.
Bottom line: Everything here centers around money. We continue to believe that Peterson and the Vikings will work this out in time for training camp.
UPDATE: After a brief ceasefire, Peterson started tweeting again, this time focusing his attention on the NFL's collective bargaining agreement.
The latest Around The NFL Podcast discusses the latest news including Adrian Peterson's contract situation, Ryan Clady's injury and Chip Kelly's response to LeSean McCoy. Find more Around The NFL content on NFL NOW.
