Former NFL MVP Adrian Peterson must give up 'numerous assets' to pay off $12 million debt | News, scores, highlights, stats and rumors

Former NFL running back Adrian Peterson has been ordered to turn over “numerous assets” to settle an estimated debt of over $12 million, ESPN’s Field Level Media reported Tuesday.

The order was issued by a Houston judge at the request of debt collector Robert Berleth, who told the court that Peterson was “known to own numerous assets” in his Missouri City, Texas, home, according to ESPN.

According to ESPN, the judge ordered police officers in Fort Bend County, Texas, to accompany Berleth to Peterson's residence to keep the peace.

Peterson played in the NFL from 2007 to 2021 and was named league MVP with the Minnesota Vikings in 2012. He has struggled with debt problems since defaulting on a $5.2 million loan in 2016.

DeAngelo Vehicle Sales LLC filed suit against Peterson in New York State Supreme Court in 2018, alleging that Peterson failed to repay the $5.2 million loan plus interest, according to court documents obtained by The Athletic's Daniel Kaplan.

“It is believed that Peterson borrowed the money to repay other loans he had taken out on investments that went wrong,” Kaplan wrote at the time.

According to Kaplan, “these investments were presumably the subject” of the 2020 arbitration between Peterson and financial planning firm Morgan Stanley Wealth Management.

Also in 2018, Peterson was ordered by courts in Maryland and Minnesota to repay debts totaling approximately $3 million after he allegedly defaulted on loans owed to other creditors.

In the first filing in 2018, DeAngelo Vehicle Sales demanded $6.6 million from Peterson, plus interest until the loan was repaid, Kaplan said.

Peterson admitted his default on the loan in a 2019 settlement agreement, according to ESPN's Michael Rothstein.

In 2021, the New York court ordered Peterson to pay nearly $8.3 million to DeAngelo Vehicle Sales, Rothstein reported. The debt will continue to accrue interest at a rate of 9 percent until it is paid, Rothstein said.

According to ESPN, Berleth told the court in a motion filed in July that “no set-off has been made to date against this judgment.”

Peterson retired from the NFL in 2021 after earning more than $100 million in his career, not including endorsements, according to Spotrac.