close
close

chw-dumpling

Former Vikings star Adrian Peterson ordered to transfer assets

Former Vikings star Adrian Peterson ordered to transfer assets

•

Vaseline

Former Minnesota Vikings star running back Adrian Peterson earned more than $100 million in his NFL career from 2007 to 2021. But he still has a massive debt estimated at more than $12 million. And now a Houston judge has ordered him to turn over numerous assets to help pay it off.

The same judge on Monday ordered that agents in Fort Bend County, Texas, must accompany the court-appointed trustee to Peterson’s home when he comes to seize the assets, according to the order obtained by USA TODAY Sports.

The trustee, Robert Berleth, had requested the order in July, saying Peterson “is aware that he has numerous assets stored” at his home in Missouri City, Texas.

“The trustee requests that an agent accompany the trustee as he seizes the numerous assets known to be stored on (the premises), to maintain the peace and prevent interference with the trustee’s duties,” the trustee said in his request.

On Monday, the judge heard the curator’s arguments and granted the request.

“It is therefore ordered that a writ of conversion with levy be issued upon the Receiver and that officers of Ft. Bend County accompany the Receiver in the performance of his duties,” the order states.

What does Adrian Peterson owe his debt to?

The order is the latest in a long legal battle to force Peterson to repay a $5.2 million loan he took out with a Pennsylvania lender in 2016 and was supposed to be repaid to other lenders, according to court documents. That debt has since resulted in an $8.3 million judgment against him in 2021, plus $15,000 in attorney fees at 9% per year on all amounts, according to the trustee’s court filing. The estimated total amount to be recovered is $12.5 million, Berleth said in a February court filing.

“To date, no settlements have been made with this judgment,” the trustee said in the July court file.

Berleth, the court-appointed receiver, has also accused Peterson of shambling his assets to avoid payment. In February, a sports memorabilia auction in Texas got caught in the middle when it tried to sell Peterson’s personal items, including several NFL trophies and jerseys.

A judge halted the sale after Peterson objected, writing on social media, “I want to emphasize that I am financially stable and would never sell my hard-earned trophies.” That auction apparently remains suspended.

Berleth gave his version of events in court documents.

“The receiver intercepted an auction initiated by the debtor (Peterson) and seized items from storage facilities leased and secured with a lock by the debtor (Peterson),” Berleth said in court documents. “The assets are owned by the debtor. The leases on 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 2016 and agreed to repay it with interest in March 2017, five months later. Under the agreement, he planned to use most of the money to repay other loans. But Peterson was coming off a knee injury in 2016, and the Vikings declined an $18 million option on his contract in early 2017, making Peterson a free agent. Peterson’s earnings declined dramatically afterward, never exceeding $3.5 million per year. He has not played in the NFL since 2021.

A spokesman for Peterson did not respond to a request for comment.

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email address: [email protected]

•

Recent Posts

Social Media

Advertisement