Pro running back Adrian Peterson has often said he wants to keep playing in the National Football League.
Hey buddy can you spare a dime? Or More? And bill The Titans, who just released the aging star in perhaps, we hope, his last shot of staying on the playing field as a pro.
Could the need for prolonged longevity be that he could use some Mega Bucks? (For many, such an animal has been a sorta Wisconsin Death Trip). A writing from a few years ago mentioned that as far as net worth, Peterson is about $4 million underwater, a far higher number than the league minimum salary.
Enter Peterson trusting some people he should not have, when it comes to money, like so many athletes. Hey, minus the fame part, we’ve all been there — one more way he like us is lovable as a regular guy — but ours is not quite like this. Those of us who embrace homespun Scandawhovian values, another segue to being or backing a Viking, might run counter to those with Peterson’s lifestyle, But There Are Many Here Among Us, who would still love to share a beer with him. And impulsive Adrian has a history of showing he might offer an off-the-cuff chance to be in his posse, at least for a time. Various pictures of he and other local pros with their fans have spoken a thousand words to attest to this, posing by say, a wall full of trophies at a place like Tom Reid’s, as fame but not necessarily fortune do not mean they can’t spin some yarns with “us.”
So says Joe Montana. When the star QB attended a RF training camp when with KC, he hung out as long as he could until curfew at a handful of local sports bars. He eagered to engage numerous others in conversation, but not again, all about football, rather just regular guy stuff. Had he hit the local Kinni trout stream that is so prized? If you want to talk fishing, I guess that would be OK …
And that is the gist (cultivating this camaraderie through accessibility) of what this post is about. And why we hope that Peterson and his peers in various sports will be able to have a local quite public presence, even at the pub on occasion, for as long as possible. (A stark counterpoint to much of the New York scene, here more inclusive of a blue-collar vibe, not just the rich and famous). And it all starts with whether their financial shape allows them upkeep of a residence in more than one metro area, and then they can mingle as they may.
A guy I know is a lukewarm fan about the Vikings, when other teams beckon, but he is on par with “connecting” with AP, as he and others affectationately call him, missing his great rushes always straight upfield. So he tuned in the Titans and swore he saw in a commercial, AP portrayed in training by pulling with tethers a roaring heavy load. (He actually has, or had, this as a part of his hyper-diligent exercising routine, going up a hill to boot). Was there an immediate need for some cash, so this endorsement was necessary? Hhm, I wondered and the other guy lamented, seemingly hurt and disbelieving when told of the financial news about AP.
The topic came up before the cut at Starr’s Bar, which always has lots of people seated at the bar-rail, and mostly in two sections, the front and back, north and south, not sitting directly behind the tap dispenser. They shot some comments about his money problems back and forth, across what could be seen as an abyss, and were wondering as many of us were, how did it come to this? Then a guy at the nord-east corner of the bar framed it well. He said AP rented a camel for his son’s birthday party. If this is right, how does one, based here in Minnesconsin, obtain a camel? I’m sure the metro zoo charges a bunch and having it shipping in from Africa even more. And AP has more than one child. The theme is that AP seems to manage money and investments poorly when it comes to his generosity, spilled out onto “his people” — look at some of the dozens and dozens of tickets he would buy for key fans and other people in his life to attend games in places like Texas or even London, when he was primed to break a record. (Some of the recipients have strong Hudson ties). This is why so many in the region bear him in mind and hope he is out and about here, in the public eye and possibly even at the pub, regardless of his status on the playing field. Those seated in the stands also wish to see him seated on a bar stool, on occasion if only an in-and-out, and what might allow such association and bonding is housing status, and whether they have means to meet and greet when in the Twin Cities, and if they can support a second residence here.
So buddy, again, can you spare a dime? (OK you must get the decimal point right). Goods for Zach Parise, another aging local athlete gone elsewhere, can be had, on the theme of tens, for $10 online, and even things with a bit more oomph are available for $50, so a lucky fan can have a memorabilia-with-signature-type-thing on their special day.
Then there were lucky fans at Hudson Tap who pledged less for signed prints — of Parise and several other prominent (sports mainly) heroes from The Twin Cities (mostly) — when the large images of the larger than life were displayed just inside the foyer on three occasions as a fundraiser, but this good idea never really picked up speed. If only two or more of you have gathered (or arrived at separate times) to bid …
More had gathered at the Petersons. He moved out of his Eden Prairie house a few years ago to “make room for” — a theme here — “one lucky football fan,” a media report said. How is the guest room or two or three used? Does this wording imply that his 2002 house in the Sunnybrook neighborhood is available for him to crash if back in town? And if you follow Peterson, a doubtless sweet deal was ripe to be gained when the house became “largely expendable” because of a new team and/or location … or that’s what the listing noted. Not necessarily an all-out “sold” sign.
A company offering among other things high-end vehicle services sued the star running back several years ago, after Peterson had borrowed more than $5 million.
We’ve all been there — everyman and vulnerable — despite their fame but not necessarily fortune, but not with such high stakes and prices. Peterson apparently needed that loan to pay existing ones, as his dealings with money are not as good as those between the stripes. It is believed the veteran running back took out that loan to pay back other loans he received for investments that did not pan out. His attorney said there is more to the story that will come out in due time.
— “And it all starts with whether their financial shape allows them upkeep of a residence in more than one metro area, and then they can mingle locally as they may. What the most tightknit fans want to know” —
So don’t they say that sometimes you can tell a lot about a person by the house they keep? Peterson’s abode has been valued at well under $1 million, very nice but not up to par with those of two Twin Cities contemporaries.
Enter the mansions of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, whose tenure with the Minnesota Wild ended in July, and the pair listed their Edina homes for a combined $7.29 million.
Back from 2019, a home belonging to Parise, complete with pucks on ice, went on the market for $4.7 million.
It sits on a 1.15 acre lot on Lake Minnetonka and covers 7,047-square-feet, so there’s not too much yard, but a bevy of lake views. Featured are two kitchens, a home movie theater … and ice rink … a dock. And we assure you that rink bests the ones hockey parents in the St. Croix Valley — having less than a quarter-court of space in terms of the basketball that’s another popular winter sport — have made through exacting flooding in their backyards.
Some of the homes in this article have, or still have, been on the market for a long time. Good for the fans, possibly although indirectly, but not players looking at relocating to places like New York, or Texas, Washington, Detroit, Tennessee … Maybe once a year on the road. Could it be their real estate agents are not journalists? With all the other amenities, do they really need to pad and be told they have walk-in closets? Wouldn’t you think that is just as obvious as, say, calling a pass play on third and 20, not giving the ball to Peterson? And noting that there is an enclosed patio and a deck, to provide other options to take in the view, uhm isn’t that just what they are supposed to do?
One bedroom also features a picturesque wall that “shows animals and trees.” Really? The zoo does that, along with camels, and they’re live. The presence of stone walls seems at least a bit more interesting.
Suter, a Madison native become Wild star, had been selling his 120-acre estate in Mazomanie, in rural Dane County, for $4.5 million. Both he and Parise had been in the midst of 13-year, $98 million contracts signed with the Wild in 2012.
The home, built in 2011, spans 12,000 square feet and includes an even dozen — like Parise’s — when it comes to bedrooms and bathrooms, a movie theater, tennis courts, swimming pool, wine cellar, exercise room, pub/billiards room … and an outdoor kitchen.
The “gated residence,” aren’t they all, is a little less impressive after you come in through the front door. Inside are a winding staircase encased by brick walls … The great room (aren’t they all?) features a two-story fireplace and (an elaborate) chef’s kitchen complete with breakfast bar. The master suite includes … lotsa.
Milwaukee-based Mahler Sotheby’s International Realty had the listing. Wasn’t that also part of that big London firm?
As for his star power, with Suter also got it rolling with his father, starting in college, playing one season at that hockey-hotbed, the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His late father, Bob, won the gold medal with the U.S. men’s hockey team at the 1980 Winter Olympics.
— “They were at the XCel Energy Center game; his wife Alisha and their three children haven’t permanently moved to New York, but they’ve visited Parise. That local presence (via housing status) is good news for Wild fans wanting to mingle, especially in an inner-circle, wide as that may be.” —
For an example, the list of Minnesota’s highest-paid professional athletes, ranked by annual salary, also includes passment of judgment on the state’s most overpaid and underpaid athletes, circa 2018. Here is the ranking, and some of it might be telling — and surprising: Cousins, Kirk, $26 million; Wiggins, Andrew, $25.25 million; Mauer, Joe, $23 million. For sake of comparison, Parise’s total net worth in a fairly recent analysis, although not bad, was the equivalent of just a few months pay for those guys, according to an analysis a couple of years back. It reportedly has gotten further ahead since then.
You can tell that sometimes its not what you make, but how much you make out of it. The homes in Minnesota would seem not nearly as opulent as the one in Wisconsin, and housing prices there, by supply and demand could dictate a difference in value. Such things would seem to indicate a need for a bit more dough. Or on the flipside of the same, a need to sell fast.
Parise, who ranks third in Wild history in goals (199) and points (400) and seventh in games played (558), added another notch in his overall case last month. This was Parise’s first gig to play in front of Wild fans since crowd restrictions were lifted for the current campaign, a reunion Parise was excited to have. Here are some of the superlatives from a quote at that time, when the scoreboard lit up in many colors, not just those of the team, when he was introduced. It uses the F word, that being “fan,” three times. Three letters to spell it not four: “Such a good fan base here,” and “loyal fans,” and “a fan base that has always been great to me and my family.” They were at the XCel Energy Center game; his wife Alisha and their three children haven’t permanently moved to New York, but they’ve visited Parise. That local presence (via housing status) is good news for Wild fans, especially in an inner-circle, wide as that may be.
Whether playing hockey or football, they are after all, and broadly speaking, Our People. Many of you will know what I mean.
Despite well-publicized attempts to have their playing and training grounds close to their storied residences, they are known to have lingered and mingled amongst their fan bases, at venues found close to the arena and stadium, after the final whistle blew, not to mention their presence at many community functions. These are the situations that mean the average Tom, Dick and Harry have a vested interest — just a relevant as the high-powered decisions recently made — since it effects the way they basically place the pros among the populace, as far as where they live and dare I say it, love.