Adrian Peterson wants college athletes to be paid

Prior to setting the NFL world on fire, Minnesota Vikings All-Pro running back Adrian Peterson was an All-American running back for the Oklahoma Sooners and Heisman finalist who made the university millions upon millions of dollars while putting his body on the line.

With the debate over whether to pay college athletes heating up in recent weeks over the decision by the NLRB to allow Northwestern to vote to form a union, Peterson expressed some strong words on the subject and believes players like former Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Johnny Manziel who was worth nearly three-quarters of a billion dollars for A&M should be financially compensated.

"“Johnny Manziel made Texas A&M so much money,” he said. “When I was at Oklahoma, they made so much money.”"

In between leading college football with 339 carries when he ran for 1,925 yards and 15 touchdowns and being the first pick of the Vikings in the 2006 NFL draft, Peterson battled injuries and welcomed his first daughter into the world which added to his full plate of responsibilities of being a world class student-athlete/employee.

"“Nobody wants to live in the dorms for four years,” Peterson said. “You see the guys who are older, and they have responsibilities. I feel like, as much money as universities make, some of that should come down to the players, as well.”"

Critics will say the scholarship and free education is enough compensation for the players who literally put their lives on the line, but with a number of universities, including the University of North Carolina under fire for fake classes, how much is a degree if you can’t get a job after graduation?

Peterson makes a great point when he references the amount of money being made off the athlete’s prowess in his sport, so why should the school receive all of the money and the athlete responsible for making the money receives nothing?