Adrian Peterson is in some financial trouble. The one-time star running back finds himself in serious debt despite earning over $100 million in his illustrious NFL career.
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A Houston judge has ordered him to pay off an estimated $12 million in debt, requiring him to turn over a collection of assets under his possession to pay it all back.
In 2016, Peterson took out a $5.2 million loan from a Pennsylvania lending company to repay other lenders. At the time, he intended to pay it back in five months. The loan ultimately snowballed into $8.3 million in 2021, and after attorney fees and a 9% annum per USA Today, the amount has nearly tripled.
Adrian Peterson is in some really bad debt despite earning nearly $100M alone from his Vikings tenure (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
Earlier in February, further word of Adrian Peterson's debt began circulating. That was when a trophy auction featuring a handful of his hardware surfaced, from game balls to jerseys and everything in between. According to USA Today, some of the items were going for $10,000. The auction was shut down as he was being tracked down to pay off a debt that, at the time, was in question as to whether the items that were a part of the listing were "legally seized as part of that debt collection."
All of this highlights a sad descent for the Oklahoma product. At the height of his career, there weren't many football players who played at his level. Peterson, who was drafted No. 7 in the 2007 NFL Draft, finished with 14,918 rushing yards and 126 total touchdowns. He was named the 2012 MVP and was a seven-time Pro Bowler. The 2007 Rookie of the Year spent most of his career with the Minnesota Vikings before bouncing around the league between 2017 and 2021.
According to Spotrac, Peterson's biggest payday came in 2011 after signing a new deal with a $12M bonus on top of his $8.25M yearly pay. He earned $94,708,319 during his time with the Vikings and a few million over the remaining time across six teams.
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