Adrian Peterson Salary & Net Worth: Detroit Lions RB Could Play Until He's 40

Detroit Lions running back Adrian Peterson’s total career earnings is one of the highest in his position. However, his fortunes have been affected by bad investments.

Peterson earned a total of more than $102 million in his career that spans 13 years, per Spotrac. He signed a one-year, $1 million deal to play for the Lions this season. Already at 35 years of age, Peterson claims he could still play until 40. AP believes the offseason training restrictions due to COVID-19 could prolong his career and keep him fresh.

The Palestine, Texas native was the 7th overall pick of the Minnesota Vikings in 2007. He established his name in Minnesota and stayed with the franchise until 2016. As a Viking, Peterson’s estimated earnings totaled $95 million. He then bounced around the league, playing for short-term deals in Arizona Cardinals, New Orleans Saints and Washington Redskins before finding a home in Detroit this year.

AP earned $2.7 million in his lone year with the Saints and took home $3.5 million two seasons playing for the Redskins. Unfortunately, he only has around $4 million to his name after having problems handling his finances.

According to Celebrity Net Worth, his lawyer claimed the running back was virtually broke in 2019 after mistrusting some people. A lender in Pennsylvania filed a case against AP for loan repayment. Another court order was filed in Maryland asking the star footballer to pay his loans. These developments often involve superstar athletes who got involved in financial problems later in their careers. In the case of the former National Player of the Year, he still has time to recover from his money woes. His fine play can help him attract longer and better contracts with teams.

Peterson will only make around a million playing for the Lions this year. His next contract would depend on his health and production. Time is clearly not on his side, but the 35 years old feels he still has a lot to offer. No one can question his credentials and contributions to the game. He was a former NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, a member of First-team All-Pro thrice and a 6-time Pro Bowl.

The pandemic might have changed how live sports and major sporting events are going to be held moving forward, but for players who are on the tail-end of their careers, the slight pause in trainings and preseason could do wonders to lengthen their careers and cement their legacy.