Adrian Peterson returned to the NFL this past Sunday after the Tennessee Titans signed him to replace the injured Derrick Henry.
Peterson came back and, at the age of 36, ran for 21 yards and a touchdown in his first game of the season. Peterson only needs 428 yards to pass Barry Sanders on the NFL all-time rushing list.
However, he almost didn’t have this chance.
Peterson only signed because he kept himself in game shape and was ready when a team called.
However, he almost competed on Dancing with the Stars this season, which is still ongoing and could have kept him from returning to the NFL last week.
Dancing with the Stars offered Adrian Peterson a spot
ESPN reported that Dancing with the Stars reached out to Adrian Peterson for a chance to appear on this season of the show.
The deal would have paid Adrian $150,000 for the rehearsal period and he could have earned up to $335,000 to appear on the show.
While that is nice money, Adrian turned it down because he wanted a chance to return to play in the NFL this season. At the time of the invitation, he thought the Baltimore Ravens would call him when they lost three running backs in the preseason.
The Ravens never called, and neither did other interested teams including the Las Vegas Raiders, Atlanta Falcons, and Miami Dolphins.
Peterson was said to be getting frustrated but then got a call from the Titans. He arrived and learned that Henry was injured and Tennessee actually needed him as a starter.
Adrian signed a 1 year, $1,075,000 contract with the Tennessee Titans. Since he joined so late in the season, he will actually get a base salary of $597,222, which is about $100,000 more than Dancing with the Stars would have paid him.
Dancing with the Stars brought in Iman Shumpert
Dancing with the Stars loves to bring in athletes each season. While Adrian Peterson turned the role down, NBA star Iman Shumpert jumped at it.
Ironically, the first athlete to win the show was in Season 3 with Emmitt Smith. Emmitt is the NFL all-time rushing leader, with over 3,500 more rushing yards than Adrian.
Emmitt won with Cheryl Burke, who is heading into the semifinals with Cody Rigsby this season.
Iman Shumpert has now become a fan favorite on the show, especially after his Perfect 40 on Horror Night.
Iman is now headed into the semifinal rounds.
Dancing with the Stars airs on Monday nights at 8/7c on ABC.