Former NFL MVP running back Adrian Peterson is facing legal trouble again in Texas, this time after two warrants were issued for his arrest related to his failure to appear in court for two different child support cases.
The former Minnesota Vikings star made more than $100 million in his NFL career from 2007 to 2021 and is considered a future Pro Football Hall of Famer. But warrants were issued this week in Fort Bend County, Texas, outside of Houston, where Peterson also has been facing property seizures to help pay off more than $12 million debt.
“The current legal case is related to a misunderstanding regarding Adrian’s court appearances as it relates to child support, and he is actively working with his legal team to resolve this matter as quickly as possible,” his publicist Denise White said in a statement. “He is committed to clearing up this situation and moving forward positively.”
In an unrelated case, he pleaded no contest in October to misdemeanor assault after being accused in the same county of slapping a woman from behind in May. He was sentenced to pay a $500 fine with no jail time in that case, according to court records.
Adrian Peterson’s NFL benefits come into play
In the separate child support cases, the county issued capias warrants against him this week. Those are different from traditional arrest warrants that require a determination that there was enough evidence to believe he committed a crime. In this case, the capias warrants relate to his failure to appear in court on these matters earlier this month.
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“TO ANY PEACE OFFICER OF THE STATE OF TEXAS—GREETING,” one of the warrants states. “YOU ARE HEREBY COMMANDED TO ARREST: ADRIAN LEWIS PETERSON, to be found in your county, and ADRIAN LEWIS PETERSON safely keep, so that you have ADRIAN LEWIS PETERSON before the Honorable 328th Judicial District Court of Fort Bend County, Texas, at the Court House of said County… and there to answer for their failure to appear for CIVIL NON-SUPPORT on December 05, 2024 before the 328TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT, as ordered.”
The two child-support cases list women from Minnesota as the custodial parents. In one of the cases, a judge signed a qualified domestic relations order Monday that establishes the right of the child to receive a portion of Peterson’s NFL benefits for child support. The warrants were issued with separate cash bonds of $9,500 and $7,500.
The larger debt case involving Adrian Peterson
In another case in September, a judge in Houston issued an order for him to turn over numerous assets to help pay debt estimated at more than $12 million. That debt stemmed from a $5.2 million loan he took out from a Pennsylvania lending company in 2016 but didn’t pay back. A court-appointed receiver has been trying to seize his assets to pay back that debt and even intercepted an auction of his NFL trophies and clothes earlier this year, according to court records.
Peterson, 39, cast blame in that case on his former financial advisor, who could not be reached by USA TODAY Sports. Peterson said in a statement in September that this was not a personal loan but a business loan that the financial advisor guaranteed would be repaid from a business he co-owned with the financial advisor and another partner.
But the promissory note with the lending company lists only Peterson as the borrower with a 12% interest rate. He promised to pay it back with interest in March 2017, five months later. An exhibit attached to the loan document in October 2016 indicated he was seeking an advance on an $18 million contract that he expected to come from the Vikings. But that money never materialized.
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.
The purpose of the loan he sought in 2016 was to consolidate, reduce the rate and defer payments on existing unsecured debt, according to the exhibit attached to the agreement.
That debt from that loan since has led to an $8.3 million court judgment against him in 2021, plus $15,000 in attorney’s fees with 9% per annum on all amounts, according to a court filing by the receiver. The approximate collection total is $12.5 million, the receiver stated in a February court filing.
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com
