If you've read my sports analysis you know that no one is more sympathetic as normal fans go than I am to players regarding money and contracts. I totally support their unions.
The NFL players union has a reputation as a kind of weak sister that's not necessarily unearned. So normally I'd be with Peterson front and center based on what he's been saying in his Twitter rants.
"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!"
"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!"
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000494587/article/adrian-peterson-asks-vikings-to-honor-his-contract
Here, here. I totally feel him here:
"This is not against the Vikings. I am just frustrated that our union did not get guaranteed contracts for its players."
But the question still begs: where was he in 2011 when the union made this bad CBA with the owners?
Meanwhile. nothing turns me off more than seeing great athletes who gave everything in themselves to the game being thrown to the side like trash. However, this is hardly the case for Peterson. He hasn't been thrown aside like trash. To the contrary, his team wants him back-and won't let him go elsewhere.
"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 Bowlerwants financial assurances beyond this season."
Peterson is unhappy because he wants a contract beyond 2015, Again, I'm normally sympathetic to a player in this position but keep in mind the fact that he really left his team in the lurch last year.
That scandal where he stood accused of beating his 4 year old son with a switch led to him only playing 1 game all year.
That's part of why I say he''s the wrong guy to make the argument-it's hard to stand besides an accused child abuser on anything.
But he played only 1 game while collecting $7 million. So it's hard to feel like he rather than the Vikings is who got ripped off here.
As for a long term contract-I can understand why players want them-and why clubs don't. I mean how many teams have had that Herschel Walker where they've pledge millions of dollars to someone who later doesn't play well or at all?
If not for the child abuse charges and the missed 15 games you could make the case for a long term deal based on his body of work-though the league at this point in time seems to feel-rightly or wrongly-that running backs are a dime a dozen if you have the offensive live-after all, Demarco Murray set records for the Cowboys last year and finished with close to 2000 yards and they didn't bother to resign him.
At this point, then, if Peterson wants a long term deal he needs to prove himself this year. Then he's in a stronger position to make this demand.
So it's probably in his interests to clear his head of all this agitation at some point and be ready for the season as he's playing for that long term contract he wants.
For him to be so demanding of a long term deal is a little surreal considering that Eli Manning at this point doesn't have one.
No comments:
Post a Comment