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With the NFL opting to keep Vikings running back Adrian Peterson on the Commissioner-Exempt list through the completion of the NFL’s review of his case under the personal conduct policy, someone is leaking to members of the media the notion that the prior agreement to place Peterson on de facto suspension with pay extends beyond the adjudication of his pending legal charges.

Per a source with knowledge of the terms of the agreement, it doesn’t.

The deal, which allowed the NFL and the Vikings to get Peterson off the field while enabling Minnesota to retain his rights, expired upon adjudication of the criminal charges. Which means that, based on the terms of the agreement the NFL and the NFLPA brokered in September, Peterson should be removed immediately from the Commissioner-Exempt list.

If Peterson chooses to pursue litigation, the document generated by the league and the union in September becomes a potent piece of ammunition to support a temporary restraining order and/or preliminary injunction allowing Peterson to play pending the resolution of the league’s review of his case under the conduct policy. Which of course would expedite the review of his case under the conduct policy, considerably.

The risk for Peterson arises from the possibility that he’ll anger Commissioner Roger Goodell, the person responsible for ultimately determining whether he’ll be suspended beyond the eight he already has missed. Indeed, the agreement expressly states, we’re told, that no discipline will be processed until after the pending criminal charges are adjudicated. Which means that the suspension with pay does not constitute discipline, per se.

Failure to give Peterson credit for the time he has missed, however, will hurt the league in the long run. Why would any player decide in future cases to agree to step aside from the playing field pending the resolution of his legal case if he knows that, in the end, any playing time he has missed won’t matter? That’s hardly the best way to repay Peterson for helping the league out of a tough spot, and it will make it much harder to justify similar arrangements in the future.

So Peterson can let the league do what it wants, or he can force the issue. His playing style and legendary handshake suggest he’s not the type to sit back and take it.