Adrian Peterson, a distinguished former running back for the Minnesota Vikings, amassed over $100 million in NFL career earnings from 2007 through to 2021. Despite this significant income, he is currently grappling with significant financial troubles, with his debt believed to surpass $12 million. Recently, legal proceedings in Houston have escalated, with a judge directing Peterson to surrender numerous assets to help settle his debts.
The aforesaid judge, on Monday, gave authorization for Fort Bend County, Texas constables to accompany the court-appointed receiver to Peterson’s residence for the intended seizure. It is important to note that these instructions were obtained from the court order by USA TODAY Sports.
The court-appointed receiver, Robert Berleth, sought the court’s permission in July to levy Peterson’s stored assets at his residence in Missouri City, Texas. The request for constable accompaniment was requested to maintain peace during the execution and to prevent any possible interruptions with the receiver’s duties.
Upon deliberation on Monday, the judge acceded to the receiver’s request. Consequently, a writ of turnover was issued accompanying the receiver’s levy, and the directive that the Ft. Bend County constables should accompany the receiver was instituted.
Pursuant to the order, Fort Bend County constables will ensure the receiver meets his responsibilities in recovering the owed property. The receiver has a duty to go into Peterson’s property and administer the collection of various assets known to be stored there. This order is just another chapter in the ongoing saga to recover the substantial loan amount taken by Peterson.
At the root of the issue is a loan amounting to $5.2 million that Peterson obtained from a Pennsylvania-based lending company in 2016. The purpose of this loan was allegedly to repay other lending institutions, according to court records. The loan resulted in a hefty $8.3 million judgment against Peterson in 2021, complemented by a $15,000 bill for attorney’s fees and annual interest rate of 9% on all amounts due.
The court filing from the receiver reveals an estimated total collection amount of $12.5 million. As per the receiver’s document from February. It’s worth noting, though, that until now, ‘No offsets have been made against this judgement,’ as per the July filing from receiver.
Peterson also faces allegations from Berleth, the court-appointed receiver, of manipulating his assets to dodge payments. Earlier this year, a Texas sports memorabilia auction house found itself entangled in the controversy when it attempted to auction Peterson’s personal items, which included numerous NFL trophies and jerseys.
The attempted auction was subsequently halted by the court after Peterson raised objections and aired his grievances on social media. At the moment, the hold on the auction remains.
The receiver, Berleth, summarized his viewpoint of the situation in the court papers. Berleth has been actively involved in the matter since being named by the court to manage Peterson’s assets. His main goal is to recover the maximum amount possible from Peterson’s resources.
It begs the question – why did Peterson take out such a sizable loan? It appears that Peterson initiated the loan agreement in 2016 with the intention of repaying it, with interest, by March 2017. Most of the funds would be directed towards the clearance of other outstanding loans, according to the agreement.
Despite these plans, Peterson was dealing with the repercussions of a major knee injury in 2016. In addition, the Vikings decided against extending the $18 million option on his contract in early 2017, rendering Peterson a free agent. Since then, Peterson’s salary saw a significant decrease, never surpassing $3.5 million annually.
In fact, his active participation in the NFL came to a standstill after 2021. Consequently, his financial standing took a hit, with his income unable to sustain his previously steep payback plans. The lack of active play in recent years has further complicated his financial woes.
Despite repeated attempts to contact Peterson for comments, no response has been received, leaving several questions unanswered about his ongoing financial struggles. More developments are expected to emerge in this intricate legal battle over Peterson’s substantial debt.