Adrian Peterson poses for photos on the red carpet at the NFL Honors in February. Photo / Getty Images.
NFL star Adrian Peterson's financial woes are front and centre after he was with three separate lawsuits claiming he failed to repay millions of dollars in loans.
Despite earning $100 million throughout his NFL career, which will continue with the Washington Redskins this season, Peterson, 34, appears to be strapped for cash.
Reports of his money woes were met with revelations about the legendary running back's prolific fathering. He has refused to say how many children he has in the past but estimates range from six to eight.
"The number one business decision a man or woman is going to make is who they partner with in a marriage," sports media identity Jason Whitlock told Speak For Yourself.
"That's a business decision that will set the foundation for every other business decision you make the rest of your life. Adrian Peterson has six kids (with) six baby mammas. You know how expensive that is? You know how many bad business decisions that is? He's supposed to be broke. I don't care how much money you make. You're supposed to be broke if you've been that irresponsible."
Details of his lavish 30th birthday party also resurfaced. Peterson reportedly bought first-class plane tickets to Houston for a guestlist of 320 family and friends.
The Arabian-themed affair included snake charmers from Dallas, world-renowned belly dancers from New York, Jamie Foxx as DJ and a rented lemur.
Peterson entered atop a camel and spent the night seated on a throne with a python draped around his shoulders.
Narrative out of Adrian Peterson’s camp is that he’s broke because of bad apples who took his $. He chose them. He also spent millions on his 30th birthday party that featured a camel, snake charmers, belly dancers and first class travel 300 guests. pic.twitter.com/dhmH2MZSMM
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) July 24, 2019
Peterson's lawyer, Chase Carlson, issued a statement this week revealing the ex-Minnesota Vikings star is in financial straits after trusting the wrong people.
"The truth behind Adrian Peterson's current financial situation is more than is being reported at this time," the statement read. "Because of ongoing legal matters, I am unable to go into detail, but I will say this is yet another situation of an athlete trusting the wrong people and being taken advantage of by those he trusted. Adrian and his family look forward to sharing further details when appropriate."
In order for Adrian Peterson to go bankrupt after making $100 million in 12 years, he’d have to average spending over $25k a DAY for 12 straight years. And somehow not be spending that money on assets which retain value. That sounds impossible to do.
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) July 25, 2019
Peterson is currently facing three lawsuits, two of which were filed within the past eight weeks. The first suit was filed in 2017 by a Minneapolis bank, which accused Peterson of defaulting on a $2.4 million loan he took out in 2016, according to ESPN. Last year, he was ordered to pay back more than $600,000.
Peterson also took out a separate $4 million loan just a month before, according to court records obtained by the Baltimore Business Journal. He later missed his first payment on the loan.
A third lawsuit filed by a lender in Pennsylvania claims Peterson defaulted on a $5.2 million loan, which he reportedly took out to try and pay off his previous debts.
Billy Corben, who produced and directed Broke — the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary which examined how athletes blew their wealth — told WCCO radio "as surreal as it sounds, it is so easy to do".
"Oftentimes, players come from very humble beginnings and suddenly, almost overnight, are multi-millionaires. And when you don't have the experience of preserving wealth and growing wealth, it's a very onerous and complicated process," he said.
"When you are competitive people, which athletes are by their very nature and profession, you will get into competitive spending and will want the fanciest car and the best suits (compared with) your fellow players in the locker room.
"And of course, as, as we're seeing, allegedly in the Peterson case, the individuals that athletes often trust with the responsibility of preserving and growing their wealth, can't be trusted."