Adrian Peterson has been in the news again recently and it’s not because he’s being initiated into the Minnesota Vikings ring of honor. Instead, AP made headlines when his MVP and Rookie of the Year trophies, among other memorabilia were posted on an online auction website. That led to a public dispute over which items the future hall of famer did and did not authorize the estate sale company to sell.
It’s the kind of problem that only happens to a former star athlete whose money problems began long before his professional football career ende… hold on… wait, what’s that? I’m getting word that Adrian Peterson’s NFL career is not technically over. Who said that? He did? And we have video, you say?
Look, I love Adrian Peterson, the football player. The monster who took the NFL by storm from 2007 to 2015, the last non-quarterback to win Most Valuable Player (2012). Those were special Sundays. I’ll never forget watching a young #28 run grown men over like he was dropped from another planet where they grow humans 3x bigger and stronger than they do on earth. All while wearing the ugliest uniforms in Minnesota Vikings history.
Why hasn’t Adrian Peterson retired yet?
But AP is will be 39-years-old in March and he’s taken just 38 carries in the last two seasons combined, totaling only 97 yards (2.6 YPC). The last time he had a season worth mentioning was 2020, when he ran for 604 yards (3.9 YPC) and 7 touchdowns for the Detroit Lions.
I have no doubt that Peterson loves playing football and still believes he can perform somewhat near the same level he once did. But there’s a more likely reason he’s keeping himself available on the free agency instead of riding off into the retirement sunset and it probably has nothing to do with his body needing any breaks.
I don’t know if AP was selling his trophies through an estate sale website or not, but I wouldn’t doubt for a second that he could really use the money that an NFL veteran minimum contract would bring for him this season.
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