Adrian Peterson has had some highly publicized financial problems over the past several years despite making nearly $100 million on the field during his NFL career, and he is once again being sued for allegedly failing to pay back a loan.
According to New York court documents that were reviewed by Daniel Kaplan of The Athletic, Peterson is being sued by Pennsylvania-based lender DeAngelo Vehicle Sales (DVS) for defaulting on a $5.2 million loan. Peterson is said to have used the money to pay back other debts he had incurred, including one from a loss of value policy he took out to protect him in the event that he suffered a significant injury on the field and had his earning potential impacted.
Peterson also allegedly used some of the $5.2 million loan to pay back Minneapolis-based Crown Bank, which filed a lawsuit against him in 2017 claiming he defaulted on a $2.4 million loan.
According to the court documents, Peterson’s injury insurance policy should have been triggered when he suffered a torn meniscus and sprained LCL in the Minnesota Vikings’ Week 2 game against the Green Bay Packers, but the insurer — Thrivest Specialty Funding — rejected the claim because his payments on the policy were not up to date. Thrivest then sold the claim to DVS, which is now suing Peterson for $5.2 million plus interest and legal fees that bring the total to $6.6 million.
While the details are difficult to follow, the overall point is that Peterson seems to owe a lot of people a lot of money. That’s almost impossible to believe given how much he has made in salary and endorsements over the past 12 or so years, but it’s a story we have heard many times before with professional athletes.
Peterson is due to earn $2.5 million with the Washington Redskins this season, and he might be in line for a bigger payday if he can accomplish his incredibly lofty goal. It sounds like he needs every penny he can get.
