Former Minnesota Vikings star running back Adrian Peterson earned more than $100 million in his NFL career from 2007 to 2021. But he still is in massive debt estimated at more than $12 million. And now a judge in Houston has issued an order for him to turn over numerous assets to help pay it back.
The same judge on Monday ordered that constables in Fort Bend County, Texas, accompany the court-appointed receiver to Peterson’s home when he shows up to seize the assets, according to the order obtained by USA TODAY Sports.
The receiver, Robert Berleth, requested this order in July and said Peterson is “is known to have numerous assets” stored at his home in Missouri City, Texas.
“The receiver requests constable accompaniment when receiver levies the numerous assets known to be stored at (the property) to keep the peace and prevent interference with the Receiver’s duties,” the receiver said in his request.
On Monday, the judge heard the receiver’s arguments and granted the request.
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“It is, therefore, ordered that a writ of turnover with receiver’s levy be issued and Ft. Bend County constables are to accompany the receiver in execution of his duties,” the order stated.
What is Adrian Peterson’s debt from?
The order is the latest in a long legal battle to get Peterson to pay back a $5.2 million loan he took out from a Pennsylvania lending company in 2016 that was supposed to pay back other lenders, according to court records. That debt since has led to a $8.3 million judgment against him in 2021, plus $15,000 in attorney’s fees with 9% per annum on all amounts, according to the receiver’s court filing. The approximate collection total is $12.5 million, Berleth stated in a February court filing.
“No offsets have been made against this judgment to date,” the receiver stated in the July court filing.
Berleth, the court-appointed receiver, also has accused Peterson of playing a shell game with his assets to avoid payment. In February, a sports memorabilia auction in Texas got caught in the middle of it when it attempted to sell off Peterson’s personal items, including several NFL trophies and jerseys.
A judge halted the sale after Peterson objected and went on social media to say, ‘I want to emphasize that I’m financially stable and would never sell off my hard-earned trophies.’ That auction is still apparently on hold.
Berleth gave his version of events in court documents.
‘The Receiver intercepted an auction the debtor (Peterson) initiated and seized items at Storage Facilities leased and secured with lock by the Debtor (Peterson),’ Berleth said in court documents. ‘The assets belong to the Debtor. The leases at the Storage Facilities were delinquent. The debtor contested the sale of trophies.”
Why did Peterson take out this loan?
Peterson took out the loan in October 2016 and promised to pay it back with interest in March 2017, five months later. According to the agreement, he sought the money so he could pay back other loans. But Peterson was coming off a knee injury in 2016, and the Vikings declined to pick up the $18 million option on his contract in early 2017, turning Peterson into a free agent. Peterson’s earnings fell dramatically after that, never exceeding $3.5 million a year. He hasn’t played in the NFL since 2021.
On Tuesday, after this story first published, Peterson issued a statement through his publicist Denise White that cast blame on his former financial advisor, who could not be immediately reached by USA TODAY Sports.
The statement said this was not a personal loan but a business loan that Peterson’s financial advisor guaranteed would be repaid from a business he co-owned with the financial advisor and another partner. The statement says Peterson was made the guarantor of the loan as the business’s majority owner and that loan was to buy equipment for the business.
However, the promissory note with the lending company lists only Peterson as the borrower with a 12% interest rate, according to court records.
An attachment to the promissory note says he was seeking an advance on a $18 million contract between Peterson and the Vikings (which never materialized). It also says the purpose of the loan he sought was to consolidate, reduce the rate and defer payments on existing unsecured debt.
Peterson’s statement said he unsuccessfully has tried to settle with the lending company, DeAngelo Vehicle Sales.
“Legal representatives have informally referred to the situation as `loan sharking’ due to the high interest rate and the predatory nature of the loan, but all attempts at an amicable settlement have been rebuffed,” Peterson’s statement said. “Peterson feels it is important to speak out, hoping that others can avoid similar financial predicaments. Trusting his financial advisor, as many do, Peterson relied on assurances—under now-missing recordings—that no personal funds would be required to settle the loan. Unfortunately, he has been left solely responsible for the financial fallout. He looks forward to resolving this matter quickly so he can move forward with his life. His ultimate goal is to help others avoid falling into similar financial traps in the future.”
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com