Where Adrian Peterson plays next season will likely be determined by how much money he makes.
On Monday, the day after the Vikings’ season ended without a trip to the playoffs, Adrian Peterson answered questions about his future in Minnesota. Peterson is due to make $18 million in 2017 but the common belief is that Minnesota will ask him to renegotiate for less.
“There’s the reality that there comes a point in time where, yeah, the best thing to do is take a pay cut and it might be in the best interest of the team, as well,” Peterson said, via Vikings.com. “It’s one of those situations where there’s guys that are, I would say, worth putting the money into as well. Like, for instance, you’ve got a guy like Tom Brady or a guy like Antonio Brown – you put more money into those guys than you would do, I’m not going to name any other receivers or any other quarterback – but then you do other guys. That is what it is. That’s just how things go.”
Peterson didn’t say he’ll renegotiate or not, but he is aware that Minnesota can cut him outright and get off the hook for all $18 million.
“I’d be lying to you to say that I haven’t thought about, well, what if we’re not able to work things out. So that crossed my mind,” Peterson said.
Whatever happens, we will likely find out in less than two months because Peterson is due a $6 million bonus in March if he’s still on the roster.
Through it all, Peterson has said and continued to say Monday that he’d like to remain a Viking.
“We have some great things going on here in Minnesota. I would love to continue to be a part of that. That’s how I’m thinking,” he said. “It’s not, oh, free agency, I get to test this. I’m not just going to write myself off here in Minnesota.”
