close
close

Adrian Peterson, former Vikings star, must hand over assets

Adrian Peterson, former Vikings star, must hand over assets

Former Minnesota Vikings star running back Adrian Peterson earned more than $100 million during his NFL career from 2007 to 2021. But he still has huge debts estimated at more than $12 million. And now a judge in Houston has ordered him to hand over numerous assets to repay the debt.

The same judge on Monday ordered police officers in Fort Bend County, Texas, to accompany the court-appointed bankruptcy trustee to Peterson's home when he shows up to seize the assets, according to the order obtained by USA TODAY Sports.

Bankruptcy trustee Robert Berleth requested the order in July, saying Peterson was “known to have numerous assets” stored at his home in Missouri City, Texas.

“The liquidator requests that a police officer accompany the liquidator when attaching the numerous assets known to be stored (on the property) in order to maintain the peace and prevent interference with the liquidator's duties,” the liquidator stated in his request.

On Monday, the judge heard the insolvency administrator's arguments and granted the application.

“It is therefore ordered that a writ of execution be issued and that Fort Bend County police officers accompany the receiver in the performance of his duties,” the order states.

Where does Adrian Peterson’s debt come from?

The order is the latest in a long legal battle to force Peterson to repay a $5.2 million loan he took out in 2016 from a Pennsylvania lending company that he was supposed to use to repay other lenders, court records show. That debt resulted in a 2021 judgment against him for $8.3 million, plus $15,000 in attorney fees at 9% per annum on all amounts, according to the bankruptcy trustee's court filing. The approximate total amount of the claim is $12.5 million, Berleth said in a February court filing.

“To date, no offsetting has been made against this judgment,” the insolvency administrator stated in his July court document.

Berleth, the court-appointed receiver, has also accused Peterson of using his assets as a shell game to avoid payments. In February, a sports memorabilia auction in Texas became one of those when attempts were made to sell off Peterson's personal items, including several NFL trophies and jerseys.

A judge halted the sale after Peterson objected, stating on social media: “I want to stress that I am financially secure and would never sell my hard-earned trophies.” The auction is apparently still on hold.

In court documents, Berleth gave his version of events.

“The bankruptcy trustee interrupted an auction initiated by the debtor (Peterson) and seized items in storage facilities leased and secured by the debtor (Peterson),” Berleth said in court documents. “The assets belong to the debtor. The leases for the storage facilities were delinquent. The debtor contested the sale of the trophies.”

Why did Peterson take out this loan?

Peterson took out the loan in 2016 and promised to repay it with interest in March 2017, five months later. According to the agreement, he planned to use most of the money to pay off other loans. But Peterson recovered from a knee injury in 2016, and the Vikings declined to exercise the $18 million option in his contract in early 2017, making Peterson a free agent. Peterson's earnings dropped dramatically after that, never again exceeding $3.5 million per year. He has not played in the NFL since 2021.

A representative for Peterson did not respond to a message seeking comment.

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @SchrotenboerEmail: [email protected]

Related Post