Former Vikings star Adrian Peterson ordered to turn over assets to pay massive debt

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 2016 and promised to pay it back with interest in March 2017, five months later. According to the agreement, he planned to use most of the money to 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.

A representative for Peterson didn’t return a message seeking comment.

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