Arizona Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson is aiming to restructure his contract after his suspension.
Patrick Peterson was reportedly unhappy the Cardinals refused to restructure his contract to lessen the financial hit from his PED suspension https://t.co/Rzo8orBYp4
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) May 16, 2019
It turns out Peterson is upset with the Cardinals after he learned about his PED suspension and their refusal to restructure his contract, per 98.7 FM’s John Gambadoro (via Pro Football Talk’s Michael David Smith).
Smith weighed in on Peterson’s issues with the Cardinals on Thursday.
Suspended NFL players do not receive their base salary while they serve those suspensions, but other forms of payment (such as signing bonuses and roster bonuses), are not affected by suspensions.
Peterson is due an $11 million base salary this season, which means he’ll lose about $3.88 million during his suspension.
Peterson may have wanted the Cardinals to do something like change his pay this year to a $10 million roster bonus followed by a $1 million base salary, which would mean the suspension would only cost him $353,000.
According to Pro Football Talk, the New England Patriots restructured quarterback Tom Brady’s contract while he fought his infamous Deflategate suspension in 2016.
New England gave Brady a $28 million signing bonus. He then received a base salary of $1 million in 2017 and 2018. In effect, Brady lost just $236,00 during his four-game suspension. Had the Patriots not restructured his deal, he would’ve lost $2.11 million, per Smith.
BREAKING: Patrick Peterson has been suspended 6 games for the 2019 season.@MikeGarafolo has the latest 👇 pic.twitter.com/Ub3EUKoGP6
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) May 16, 2019
On May 16, the NFL suspended Peterson for six games for violating its PED policy. It’s the first suspension Peterson will serve in his nine-year career.
Second-round draft choice Byron Murphy will replace Peterson in his absence.