You name it, we’ve probably seen it in this town. Unless of course, we are talking Super Bowls… but that’s another article. But recently, the former Viking behind that headline is legendary running back, Adrian Peterson.

Adrian Peterson arrested on DWI Charges again

In the past year alone, AP has made headlines (and/or been arrested) for a poker night fight that was caught on camera and went viral, plus a DWI arrest that happened when he was back in Minnesota for the Vikings Draft party. Unfortunately, No. 3 of the year — which came Sunday in Texas around 10 AM — was not lucky.

Adrian Peterson has been arrested after allegedly driving while under the influence…TMZ has learned. According to online records, Peterson was arrested in Sugar Land, Texas around 10 AM local time Sunday. He was booked on one charge of DWI and one charge of unlawful carrying of a weapon.

TMZ

When arrested earlier this year in Minnesota, Peterson blew a .14%, . The legal-limit here is .08% (for those who don’t know). It has not yet been reported how egregious the infraction was this time. The timing of 10 AM local time raises a whole different set of questions.

Was he drinking that early? Is it possible he was still drunk enough that late in the morning, from the night before? Unlawful carrying of a weapon is a new charge for Peterson, but certainly nothing to be messing around with while intoxicated.

Related: Polarizing Day for Former MN Vikings Quarterbacks

Peterson last appeared in the NFL during the 2021 season with the Tennessee Titans and Seattle Seahawks. He has struggled to avoid the negative spotlight in since, as he’s dealt with post-playing career money problems and run ins with the law.

The Minnesota Vikings employed Peterson for a decade, after making him the seventh overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft. He logged nearly 12,000 yards in purple and finished with 14,918 yards for his career. But now, the four-time All-Pro and 2012 MVP needs to figure out how to live a productive life after football, hopefully sooner than later.

MN Vikings drinking/driving problems continue with Peterson

Minnesota has dealt with way too many DWI problems in recent seasons. Jordan Addison finished a three-game suspension for his “wet reckless” plea stemming from last summer.

Back in 2023, offensive coordinator Wes Phillips was pulled over and arrested for drinking and driving. He too was able to plead his charges down to a reckless driving, as well.

All of this, amidst the tragedy that was Khyree Jackson being killed by a drunk driver in July 2024, before the Oregon rookie ever stepped on the field for the MN Vikings.

On Sunday, the football must go on. The Minnesota Vikings will get back on the field against the Detroit Lions, after what feels like a mini bye week. It’s a tough test for a team that is expected to change quarterbacks again, 1.5 weeks after getting stomped out West by the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday Night Football.

Peterson is also a father, and his 15-year-old daughter Ari Peterson is carving out her own legacy. While football isn’t the focus, basketball has been. She’s good, like really good. She might follow in her father’s footsteps too.

Ari Peterson checking in on Minnesota Gophers hoops

Adrian Peterson spent 10 seasons playing for the Minnesota Vikings after being the 7th overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft. His daughter Ari, a standout prep hoops star, is now considering the Minnesota Gophers as a place to play at the collegiate level.

Ari Peterson, a Top 20 prospect in the class of 2028, has locked in three unofficial visits, source tells @247Sports pic.twitter.com/HtOj0VE1wT

— Dushawn London (@DushawnLondon1) September 4, 2025

Currently ranked as a 4-star prospect by 247 Sports, there aren’t many top 100 lists out yet for the class of 2028. Peterson checks in 20th on ESPN’s list, and is also seen there as a 4-star recruit. The Minnetonka Skipper forward will enter her sophomore season in 2025-26, and is hoping to help better a 16-12 record from last season.

Basketball is something of a calling card for daughters of former Vikings stars it seems. Chad Greenway, the linebacker, ten-year veteran, and teammate of Adrian Peterson, saw his daughter (ranked 11th in the 2026 girls basketball class by ESPN) commit to Kentucky.

It’s possible that Peterson opts to commit at some point in the next 12-16 months. Greenway landed with Kentucky in November. She’ll play her senior season with Providence Academy this winter.

Adrian is obviously a proud father and shared Ari’s highlight reel. He mentioned that Oklahoma has already offered her a scholarship as well. She is set to visit (unofficial) Minnesota next month on October 11.

While the men’s team is breaking in new head coach Niko Medved this year, the women’s team will boast Dawn Plitzuweit for her third season. As is always the case, keeping the best in-state talent home remains the goal.

Let’s start by noting that, while Peterson hasn’t played an NFL game since the 2021 season, he has yet to retire, meaning he’s still as eligible as any other free agent remaining on the market, entering 2025 training camp. That fact tells you everything you need to know about where AP’s mentals and financials are currently at.

Remember Adrian Peterson’s poker night brawl?

And that brings us to a couple of months ago, May 27, when a 40-year-old Adrian Peterson was playing cards at a Houston poker bar, called JokerStars. There, a disagreement between AP and another hyper athletic man at his table quickly escalated into a full-blown fist fight that the former Viking seemed to get the worst of.

Former #NFL superstar #AdrianPeterson got into a fistfight with a poker player following a dispute over a hand … and #TMZSports has obtained video of the tussle. pic.twitter.com/WdhcZFHwBt

— TMZ Sports (@TMZ_Sports) June 19, 2025

After TMZ Sports finally got word of Peterson’s bar room brawl out to the public, which was nearly a month after the fight actually took place, he blamed fans and the media for trying to make nothing into something, voicing frustration with how his off-field activities become magnified due to his celebrity status.

Of course, anyone with any self-awareness would understand that any big name current or former pro sports star deals with the same kind of scrutiny that AP does, oftentimes even more. The one-time Minnesota Vikings superstar’s biggest problem has been his inability to stay out of trouble and out of headlines.

Whether it be 2014 child abuse charges he pled no contest to, or things he’s done since his playing career was forced into an end. Prior to joining the poker night fight club, AP was arrested under suspicion of DUI, after he attended the 2025 Minnesota Vikings draft party. Before that, he was cited for an altercation with a sports memorabilia collectors.

Former Minnesota Vikings star gets rematch fight

The list of headlines goes on. But no matter, because it appears Adrian Peterson is no longer mad at fans intrigued by off-field escapades, nor the media members who profit from them. Instead, AP is trying to make some money off of his mistakes this time around.

On Friday, TMZ Sports broke the news that Peterson has signed up for a rematch against his card-playing enemy from JokerStars that May night in Houston. This time, however, the fight will be televised and both men will be wearing boxing gloves. The name on the fight card next to Peterson is Joe “Baby Joe” Castaneda.

Arian Peterson has officially signed a contract to fight his poker adversary in a boxing ring, @TMZ_Sports has learned.

Read more: https://t.co/rJOpc60Kv1 pic.twitter.com/XaZwyVbWBA

— TMZ (@TMZ) July 10, 2025

Adrian Peterson will be throwing hands against his poker rival again soon … TMZ Sports has learned he’s officially signed a contract to fight his adversary in a boxing ring!

The NFL legend put his John Hancock on a Celebrity Boxing contract Wednesday evening … and after Joe “Baby Joe” Castaneda inked his deal with the fight org. earlier this week — a sanctioned bout between the two is now incoming.

TMZ Sports

Related: Adrian Peterson Lands in Jail After Late Night of Vikings Draft Partying

Of course, this isn’t the first time I’ve underestimated AP’s financial problems, and I doubt it will be the last. At the end of the day, everybody needs money to live their life. That includes Adrian Peterson, who was over $12 million dollars in debt, a number revealed in court documents back in September, 2024.

Sure, AP made over $100 million during his NFL career, but the Minnesota Vikings all-time leading rusher blew most of those earnings before his football career was even over.

Thus, Peterson has been searching for additional revenue streams since NFL teams stopped trying to sign him three years ago, including a 2023 run on Dancing with the Stars.

This isn’t Adrian Peterson’s first boxing rodeo

Not only is this Peterson’s second fight against Joe “Baby Joe” Castaneda, but it’s also AP’s second time stepping into a boxing ring as a paid fighter. Back in 2022, he signed up to fight another former NFL running back, Le’Veon Bell.

Unfortunately, Peterson’s boxing debut did not go well. Bell mostly dominated the first four rounds of the fight, before he knocked AP out in the 5th and final round.

Leveon Bell just knocked out Adrian Peterson to officially kick off the NFL season pic.twitter.com/f4GznfKskJ

— Dan Canobbio (@DanCanobbio) September 11, 2022

Without a doubt, I thought being KO’d by Le’Veon Bell meant the last time we would see Adrian Peterson step into a boxing ring with gloves and shorts on. But as mentioned earlier, I continue to underestimate just how desperate AP’s money situation really is.

Unfortunately, Peterson was never the same running back once he left Minnesota, totalling less than 3,000 yards between six different teams, over the course of five seasons from 2017-2021. To this day, the Vikings legend and future NFL Hall of Famer has yet to retire, even though he’s now 40 years old and hasn’t played for three seasons.

Then, there’s the Adrian Peterson we have come to know off the field. And that AP, while always approachable and great with Vikings fans, is nowhere near as spectacular as the guy who laced it up and ran over professional football players for a decade.

Off the field, AP has had multiple run-ins with police, including recently. His most infamous off-field legal issue stemmed from a child abuse scandal that turned his life and the 2014 Minnesota Vikings season upside down. The former Oklahoma Sooner has also dealt with money issues that have lead to disputes over some of his merchandise and who owns it.

Adrian Peterson gets into fist fight over poker dispute

But what happened this week, at what was supposed to be a fun night of bar poker, definitely lands near the top of ‘WTF moments’ (both on and off the field), since we were introduced to Adrian Peterson back when he was drafted by the Vikings in 2007.

Former #NFL superstar #AdrianPeterson got into a fistfight with a poker player following a dispute over a hand … and #TMZSports has obtained video of the tussle. pic.twitter.com/WdhcZFHwBt

— TMZ Sports (@TMZ_Sports) June 19, 2025

According to TMZ Sports, the poker room brawl broke out weeks ago, on May 27, at a poker club in Houston, called “JokerStars”. Peterson told TMZ that alcohol was involved in the altercation and that “one thing led to another”, after he and his buddies had a disagreement at the table.

AP made sure to let TMZ know that his bloody wounds were attained when he fell and hit a chair, not because of a punch he took. Video evidence does not back up his claim, however.

We’re told after the guys were pulled apart, bloody wounds were visible on both their faces. Peterson, though, claimed he sustained his injury after he fell into a chair — not from a punch.

TMZ Sports

Related: Multiple Minnesota Vikings Make Exclusive NFL All Quarter Century Team

Have you ever been around Adrian Peterson? He’s a monster who stands at 6’1″, 220 lbs of pure muscle. Yet, when a dispute broke out between AP and this Random Poker Player the other night, not only did Random Poker Player hold his own… he might have won this fight, had it gone to judges.

Eventually, right before the video cuts off, that Peterson’s sheer size and strength eventually overcomes Random Poker Player, but not after Adrian catches multiple fists to the face/head area. We do not know exactly what sparked the fight, as of now. If more video or information surfaces on this brawl, it will be added to this article.

Over the course of Adrian Peterson’s 15-year career, he compiled 14,918 rushing yards and 120 touchdowns on 3,230 carries. 11,747 of those yards and 97 of his touchdowns came in a Vikings uniform. Both numbers are far and away the most in franchise history.

Related: The Minnesota Vikings Select… Donovan Jackson, Ohio State

Thus, it wasn’t surprising when AP showed up at U.S. Bank Stadium on Thursday night for the annual Minnesota Vikings draft party, where he sat next to radio voice of the Vikings, Paul Allen, and chopped it up over all things football.

NOW: All Day came to play! #Vikings legendary RB Adrian Peterson joins the broadcast!@iHeartRadio | @heatcool2
TUNE IN: https://t.co/f0Xt5Pbgog pic.twitter.com/5jGrpd2cD3

— KFAN1003 (@KFAN1003) April 25, 2025

Adrian Peterson arrested on suspicion of DWI

Unfortunately, after a great night celebrating with the football fans who love him most, it appears — by this morning’s Hennepin County jail roster — that he did not make it all the way home or to his hotel, when the draft party ended.

Instead, according to public arrest records, Adrian Peterson was arrested Thursday on suspicion of 4th degree misdemeanor DWI, the lowest of all DWI charges, meant for first-time offenders with no aggravating factors.

NEW: Adrian Peterson has been booked into Hennepin County Jail on DWI this morning. pic.twitter.com/kU8zi03MCW

— CrimeWatchMpls (@CrimeWatchMpls) April 25, 2025

According to his arrest details, Peterson was stopped by Minnesota State Patrol for expired license plate tabs. He was booked at 5:16 a.m. CDT and released a little over two hours later, at 7:31 a.m., after posting $4,000 bond. His court appearance is set for May 9.

Peterson’s ever-growing rap sheet

This isn’t Adrian Peterson’s first run in with the law. In July 2012, AP was charged for resisting arrest outside a Houston nightclub. In 2014, he was hit with his most infamous criminal charge, when he eventually plead no contest to “reckless assault” on his son.

In 2022, Peterson was arrested on domestic disturbance charges filed by his wife, which were eventually dropped. Then in the last couple years, AP’s money issues have caught up with him.

Related: Does $600K Lawsuit Against Adrian Peterson Reveal Deeper $$$ Problems?

He even had an warrant was issued for his arrest in Fort Bend County, TX, after a “misunderstanding regarding Adrian’s court appearances as it relates to child support”, according to his publicist at the time.

One decision does not make a man. But hopefully AP stops piling up these bad decisions pretty soon… before he pushes his luck too far.

Peterson is not just one of the greatest running backs of his era, but one of the best to ever take handoffs out of the backfield. During his legendary 15-year career the seventh overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft earned over $103 million in earnings. Yet, like many greats before him, it seems he has blown much of his hard-earned cash.

Adrian Peterson owes over $12 million in debt

Also Read: Where do the Minnesota Vikings land in the latest NFL offense rankings?

On Tuesday, USA Today was able to obtain court documents from a Houston court demanding the Vikings icon turn over some of his most valuable assets to pay off $12.5 million in debt.

Robert Berleth is the court-appointed receiver. He will visit the former NFL star’s home to seize his valuables. The judge overseeing the case has also assigned constables to accompany Berleth to make sure the job gets done.

“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 the court records USA Today obtained. “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. The approximate collection total is $12.5 million, Berleth stated in a February court filing.”

USA Today

The $5.2 million loan came during Adrian Peterson’s final season with the Vikings. He was eligible for a $17 million team option the following year. However, after an injury-riddled season, the option was not picked up. And he took his talents to New Orleans for two years, and $7 million.

The Vikings legend was a seven-time Pro Bowler and earned All-Pro honors in four of those years. He is by far the franchise leader in NFL stats for rushing yards (11,747) and touchdowns (97). His final season in the league was in 2021.

Also Read: Packers Fan Has Full Meltdown Watching Aaron Jones, Sam Darnold Lead Vikings

Zim posted a combined 72-56-1 record while walking the Vikings’ sideline. But there may not be another coach in Vikings history who got more dumped on post-firing, than Mike Zimmer, either.

His former GM Rick Spielman has taken his shots, and he heard it plenty from former players too, including former offensive draft picks like 3rd-round QB Kellen Mond and superstar wide receiver Justin Jefferson. Even defensive studs like Eric Kendricks, who were raised under Zim’s tutelage, went after him.

Adrian Peterson no fan of former Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer

And now, we can add Adrian Peterson to that list of former players who were not fans of Zim. AP went on Rachel Demita’s podcast ‘Courtside Club’, to reiterate that he is NOT retiring from the NFL. But another topic they dove deep on is why Peterson ever left the Minnesota Vikings.

During that part of the interview, we find out that, no matter what the Vikings motives were at the time, Peterson had no plans of returning, after the 2016 season. Why? You guessed it. Mike Zimmer. AP traces his exit back to one specific moment when Zim “rubbed him the wrong way” following a week 14 game against the Indianapolis Colts.

After rushing for 50 yards on 31 carries combined between weeks one and two of that season, Peterson went down with a meniscus injury that needed surgery. Following months of recover, he made his return in that game vs the Colts, one the Vikings needed to win, in order keep any mathematical hope of making the playoffs alive. AP gained 22 yards on 6 carries and the Vikings lost 34-6.

Related: Adrian Peterson Denies Ever Authorizing the Sale of His MVP Trophy

When the team got back to practice at the start of week 15, Adrian went to Mike with the intention of shutting himself back down for the remaining few weeks of the season. AP tells Demita that he was concerned about injuring himself, right before he was about to hit free agency. A risk he wasn’t willing to take, when the team didn’t have a chance at postseason play

Predictably, Mike “challenged” AP’s character and football guy mentality, which is near the top of the list of things that football players find disrespectful. I’ll let Peterson take it from here. I transcribed most of the video below, for those who would prefer to read what he said.

@AdrianPeterson on a moment in his last season in Minnesota that contributed to his breakup with the #Vikings:

“I never felt that disrespected. Here I am, the face of the franchise, I scratched back after your staff and professionals said I won’t make it back in time, and you… pic.twitter.com/vFekbh8xfe

— VikingzFanPage (@vikingzfanpage) April 6, 2024

“Long story short, ‘the odds’ again… I overcame what ‘the odds’ were saying and I was able to come back. We were playing the Colts and we needed to win out, like we had point-something percent chance, but any chance we had [I was going to play], that’s the mentality I have, you know, whatever [chances we have], I’m ridin’ with it.

We end up losing that game, I came back out there and, you know, I played decent… didn’t really play too well, you know, it had been a while. And that [loss] pretty much eliminated us from playoff contention. The next week, coach wanted me to play again. I was like, ‘coach, I just came back from tearing [my meniscus]. It’s my first game. We have no chance to make the playoffs, why would I get out there and risk hurting myself?”

“[That was 2016] and my contract was up too, you know, so I could have easily been like, ‘I’m just gonna shut it down [in week 3 after the initial injury] and just, whatever, recover’. But that’s not my mentality. And he challenged me. He was like, ‘well I feel like, if you was able to play last week, then you’re able to come out and play now’.

And I was like, ‘I would do that if we really had a chance to make it to the playoffs, but we don’t and I’m not gonna go out here and risk hurting myself for pointless game.’ And he was like, well I just rather you had not played last game’, and this that and the other.

That’s the first time that a coach has really just rubbed me wrong with challenging me, when it comes to what I’ve been doing since I was 7 y/o, playing the game that I love. And that’s what rubbed me so wrong because here I am, the face of the franchise, I dun scratched back after your staff and your professionals had told you that, ‘you know what, he’s not gonna make it back in time and ya’ll should just sit him.’

I scratched back because that’s the love I have for the game and you’re gonna disrespect me like that? I was through with him after that. I was like, alright man, whatever.“

Adrian Peterson – Interview with Rachel Demita (Courtside Club Podcast)

Related: Are Giants Trying to Bait Vikings into Trading Ahead of Them in NFL Draft?

Adrian Peterson went on to sign with the New Orleans Saints in free agency, where he found himself in his first real running back timeshare. He was traded to the Arizona Cardinals in the middle of the 2017 season. His final 1,000 yard rushing performance would come one year later, in 2018 with the then Washington Redskins.

Mike Zimmer’s 72 victories with the Minnesota Vikings are more than any coach to ever wear the headset, whose last name isn’t Green or Grant. But there’s no doubt, he had issues coaching talent in an age where NFL players are making millions more than the coaches tasked with keeping a team together and moving in a forward direction.

This interview with AP is the most recent example of that truth.

It’s the kind of problem that only happens to a former star athlete whose money problems began long before his professional football career ende… hold on… wait, what’s that? I’m getting word that Adrian Peterson’s NFL career is not technically over. Who said that? He did? And we have video, you say?

"I'm always open to get out there and play again." – Adrian Peterson to @dannykanell pic.twitter.com/aayRKhwWnF

— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) February 23, 2024

Look, I love Adrian Peterson, the football player. The monster who took the NFL by storm from 2007 to 2015, the last non-quarterback to win Most Valuable Player (2012). Those were special Sundays. I’ll never forget watching a young #28 run grown men over like he was dropped from another planet where they grow humans 3x bigger and stronger than they do on earth. All while wearing the ugliest uniforms in Minnesota Vikings history.

Why hasn’t Adrian Peterson retired yet?

But AP is will be 39-years-old in March and he’s taken just 38 carries in the last two seasons combined, totaling only 97 yards (2.6 YPC). The last time he had a season worth mentioning was 2020, when he ran for 604 yards (3.9 YPC) and 7 touchdowns for the Detroit Lions.

Related: ESPN Get Up Boldly Predicts Vikings Will Trade Justin Jefferson and Let Kirk Cousins Walk

I have no doubt that Peterson loves playing football and still believes he can perform somewhat near the same level he once did. But there’s a more likely reason he’s keeping himself available on the free agency instead of riding off into the retirement sunset and it probably has nothing to do with his body needing any breaks.

I don’t know if AP was selling his trophies through an estate sale website or not, but I wouldn’t doubt for a second that he could really use the money that an NFL veteran minimum contract would bring for him this season.

Related: Adrian Peterson’s Daughter; 8th-Grader Ari Peterson Offered by Minnesota Gophers WBB

Given AP’s well-documented financial struggles over the years, it was assumed that he authorized and sought out a company to sell these things for him. But this evening, Peterson dropped a video where he denies ever giving the go-ahead to HiBid.com to sell any of his precious trophy case material.

Adrian Peterson taking legal action against auction company

In the 1:21 video, AP says he will be taking legal action against the online auction company, TexMax Auctions LLC. AP added that he is doing just fine financially and that, if he did want to sell his MVP or OPOY trophies, he wouldn’t leave it to an an outside broker.

“I wanna clarify recent rumors and media reports. An estate sale company, without my authorization included some of my trophies in the sale, despite clear instructions to leave personal items untouched. I did not authorize the sale of any of my trophies and I will be taking legal action. Trusting this company without supervision was my mistake. We allowed them to go into several of our storage units with clear instructions. They clearly did something unlawful. I want to emphasize that I am financially financially stable and would never sell off my hard earned trophies.

If I was gonna sell them, I know people that I can send them to. I wouldn’t go online and sell my personal items randomly, so let that sink in. It’s concerning that the media outlets did not verify this information with my publicist or me, because a lot of you guys have my number. But you know, it is what it is. I just wanted to address this and put in my own words because people have been texting me here the past hour. But it’s all good, I’m gonna go upstairs and continue to praise God and celebrate. I’m not gonna let the devil win. God bless have a wonderful night”

Adrian Peterson in response to his trophies being listed online by an estate sale company

While he played for seven different teams, it was his ten-year stretch in purple and gold that will be remembered most. After all, he’s the last non-QB to win the NFL MVP award, which he did in 2012.

UPDATE: Adrian Peterson is denying he ever authorized the sale of his MVP trophy and that he is taking legal action against TexMax Auctions.

Peterson also won Offensive Player of the Year that same season and Offensive Rookie of the Year in ’07. Back then, after an incredible start to his NFL career followed an already iconic collegiate run, AP’s trophy case was getting filling up faster than he could resize it.

Adrian Peterson’s 2012 NFL MVP Award Listed For Sale

But now, all of those trophies can be yours for the right price because AP’s selling it all in an estate sale via HiBid.com TexMax Auctions LLC looks to be in charge of Adrian Peterson’s estate sale. His biggest awards (MVP, OROTY, and OPOY) can be purchased online.

UPDATE: Adrian Peterson is denying he ever authorized the sale of his MVP trophy and that he is taking legal action against TexMax Auctions.

Peterson made over $103 million in his playing career, according to Spotrac. However, the now-38-year-old has had both legal and financial issues for much of the last decade, problems that have plagued him the last couple years. He was ordered to pay an automotive sales company $8.3 million, after defaulting on previous loans.

While he didn’t play pro football in 2023, Peterson stayed busy (and made some money) by appearing on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars. The year before, he got in the celebrity boxing ring, where he was KO’d by former Pittsburgh Steelers running back, Le’Veon Bell.

Related: Adrian Peterson’s Daughter; 8th-Grader Ari Peterson Offered by Minnesota Gophers WBB

Instead of getting knocked out in the ring or getting eliminated in dance competitions, Peterson is turning to the star that he used to be, in hopes of continuing his climb out of debt.