--- description: Minnesota Vikings Running Back Adrian Peterson has been suspended from the NFL without pay for the remainder of the 2014 season. title: Adrian Peterson Suspension: NFL, Roger Goodell Bench Viking For Season image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt63c0188ce6eac402/6987694b8e0601e3b6458a18/adrian-peterson-nfl-football.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Sports](/section/sports/) ## Sports Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Football](/tag/football/) ## Football Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # NFL Suspends Adrian Peterson For Season  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Nov 18, 2014 3:06 PM CUT  Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson speaks to the media after pleading no contest to an assault charge in Conroe, Texas on Nov. 4, 2014. Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson speaks to the media after pleading no contest to an assault charge in Conroe, Texas on Nov. 4, 2014.Pat Sullivan—AP  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Nov 18, 2014 3:06 PM CUT Minnesota Vikings Running Back Adrian Peterson has been suspended from the National Football League without pay for the remainder of the 2014 season, the league announced Tuesday. Peterson pled [no contest](http://time.com/3557047/vikings-adrian-peterson-misdemeanor/ "undefined") this month to charges of reckless assault after he was accused of hitting his son with a switch. In an open letter, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell told Peterson that the player’s ability to return to the field would depend on his completion of counseling and treatment. “You must commit yourself to your counseling and rehabilitative effort, properly care for your children, and have no further violations of law or league policy,” said Goodell, who has come under criticism in recent months for turning a blind eye to player misconduct. Peterson will not be permitted to return to play before April 15, Goodell said. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3591918/adrian-peterson-nfl-suspension/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3591918/adrian-peterson-nfl-suspension/"},"headline":"NFL Suspends Adrian Peterson For Season","datePublished":"2014-11-18T15:06:30.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T11:30:30.607Z","description":"Peterson pled no contest to charges of reckless assault","url":"https://time.com/3591918/adrian-peterson-nfl-suspension/","keywords":["Football","NFL","Roger Goodell","Adrian Peterson"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt63c0188ce6eac402/6987694b8e0601e3b6458a18/adrian-peterson-nfl-football.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt63c0188ce6eac402/6987694b8e0601e3b6458a18/adrian-peterson-nfl-football.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Adrian Peterson, Rusty Hardin","caption":"Adrian Peterson, Rusty Hardin","creditText":"Pat Sullivan—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/football/","name":"Football"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3591918/adrian-peterson-nfl-suspension/","name":"NFL Suspends Adrian Peterson For Season"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Nike Drops Adrian Peterson, But Hope Solo Deal Remains","description":"The footwear and apparel company dropped Minnesota Vikings star running back Adrian Peterson from his contract Tuesday just days after Peterson submitted a no-contest plea for misdemeanor reckless assault.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/gpmq06MP/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-11-07T16:59:36.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/gpmq06MP.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3591918/adrian-peterson-nfl-suspension/","duration":"PT1M50S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3591918/adrian-peterson-nfl-suspension/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```