Vikings running back Adrian Peterson made the following comments on a conference call with about 20-some media members roughly 18 hours ago. We haven't checked to see, but do realize it's quite possible that these words have spent the past 17 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds being analyzed from coast to coast, internationally and galactically on the Martian NFL Radio Network.
But, hey, it's AP and it was one of his typically honest responses about a hot-button issue that divides opinions and usually leaves people in Peterson's position reaching for a comfortable fence to straddle. So when Peterson is asked whether college athletes should be paid, well, it's interesting to see where he stands. And here's where he stands, according to where he stood 18 hours ago:
"I feel like they deserve to [be paid]. I've been asked this before [and people have said,] `Well, what do you think about full scholarships?' Guys will say scholarships are good enough. No. No. Because you work for those full scholarships. You qualify academically, and if you don't ... I see the best athletes go to junior colleges because academically they weren't able to qualify. So guys work extremely hard to get to college, to be able to get that full scholarship at a university.
"And then, once you get to the university, you see guys ... for example, Johnny Manziel and, actually, I could use myself, too. When I was in college, I know personally as far as jersey sales and ticket sales I helped that university make a lot of money. Johnny Manziel helped make Texas A&M so much money. You're talking about championship games he was able to lead them to. You're talking about jersey sales that he doesn't see a dime of. And in the meantime, you got a guy who possibly could be struggling to live outside of college.
"No one wants to live in the dorms for four years. Then the guys who are older, who have responsibilities ... I came in at a time when my first daughter was being born. So there were different responsibilities that I had outside of playing football and going to class. So I feel like as much as universities make, I feel like some of that money should be given down to the players as well because essentially we are the ones making these universities money. These bowl games, without the players, how much money do they make? None. Without the players, how much money do they make? They make no money without the players.
"And then you transition into basketball. I hear they're trying to make basketball players go two years to college. Wow. I wonder why? Just think about it. Imagine if LeBron James would have gone to college for two years. How much money would that college have made off LeBron James? They would have made so much money off of LeBron James. So I feel like that's the reason they're doing it. And I understand they're are a lot of guys who come out of high school and go to the draft and they don't end upu making it. But it's a freedom. This is the United States. It's based off of freedom. You should be able to do as you want and make your own decisions. So I really feel like athletes should get paid as well because the universities are definitely getting paid."
