THURSDAY, 8:19am: Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post has slightly different figures on Peterson’s new contract in his breakdown of the deal, writing that the base value is $42MM rather than $44MM. The discrepancy appears to be related to the amount of the 2016 roster bonus, which Wilson says is just $3MM instead of $5MM.
According to Wilson, the escalators in the pact are dependent on Peterson’s rushing yards and the Vikings’ playoff success.
TUESDAY, 3:41pm: After providing some initial figures on Adrian Peterson‘s restructured deal with the Vikings earlier today, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk now has the full details of Peterson’s contract, reporting the following information:
- In 2015, Peterson will earn a $2MM roster bonus next Tuesday (July 28), plus a fully guaranteed $11MM base salary.
- In 2016, Peterson has a $7.75MM base salary. $7MM is guaranteed for injury only for now, but that salary becomes fully guaranteed on the third day of the 2016 league year. Peterson would also earn a $5MM roster bonus on that day, if he remains under contract.
- In 2017, Peterson has a non-guaranteed $11.75MM base salary, plus a $6MM roster bonus due on the third day of the league year.
- In 2016 and 2017, Peterson can earn $250K workout bonuses, bringing the total three-year value of the contract to $44MM, slightly down from the $44.75MM base value of his old deal.
- There are also various escalators and de-escalators in 2015 and 2016 that could increase or reduce Peterson’s earning by about $2MM, per Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports (Twitter link).
In other words, the deal doesn’t necessarily ensure that Peterson will be in Minnesota beyond 2015, but it makes it likely, barring a significant dip in production this year. If the Vikings decide to move on from Peterson in 2016 or 2017, they’d have to make that decision very early in the league year, allowing the running back to hit free agency when plenty of teams would still have cap room available.
So…Peterson really didn’t get anything in this deal. His 2015 salary was already effectively guaranteed (in that the Vikings were not going to release him now after keeping him all offseason), and the team can still cut him next spring if he struggles in 2015 or gets hurt (but can still pass a physical). I guess he forces Minnesota to make the call on keeping him before the start of free agency, but he didn’t gain much.
That’s not the full guarantee that he was looking for but that is a decent victory, no? They’ll get clarity before the money starts flying and, more importantly, they’ll make giving up Peterson a much tougher decision for Minnesota.
I have to admit, though, Ben Dogra looks pretty foolish in the end. He made quite a scene this offseason and got peanuts compared to what he was demanding.
He will get that clarity, but at the end of the day he’s not going to make any more money than he would have any way. If the Vikings do cut him next year, he won’t match what his current contract calls for. Peterson basically had no leverage, and I think this outcome shows that.