The Adrian Peterson manifesto

Adrian Peterson, who has refused to attend optional Minnesota Vikings practices in an ongoing contract dispute, is again using Twitter to pour gas on a fire.

This afternoon, Peterson took his case for guaranteed money to the social network.

Peterson has three years and $44.25 million left on his current contract. But in the NFL, money isn’t guaranteed.

Which is pretty much how NFL contracts have worked for years, and how Peterson undoubtedly knew it worked when he signed his contract.

Peterson signed his contract in 2011, calling for an initial salary of over $8 million. But the Vikings paid him $13 million as a “signing bonus,” essentially giving him money up front. A total of $36 million of the $86 million deal was guaranteed.

By the end of his deal in 2017, Peterson was to be making $16,750,000. But nobody expected that a then-33-year-old running back in a passing league would actually get that money.

Peterson told a reporter last night he’s not asking to be traded. But one of his tweets suggested that he wants out.

Yesterday, Vikings coach Mike Zimmer sent Peterson a 140-character message the old-fashioned way.

“He can either play for us or he can not play. He’s not going to play for anybody else, and that’s just the way it’s going to be,” he told reporters