Source: Icon Sportswire / Getty
Celebrities’ memorabilia hitting the auction block is nothing new, but the connotation surrounding a recent Adrian Peterson sale went a bit differently.
News broke that auction platform HiBid is hosting nearly 1,000 of Peterson’s items. There are cleats, signed caps, and authenticated game-used footballs, but also non-game-related things like random pairs of shoes, a replica pistol, button-up shirts, and sweaters.
This led fans to believe that Peterson had fallen on hard times and needed to liquidate his closet to come up with some quick cash.
The former running back took to social media to reveal that couldn’t be further from the truth, and the auction house was actually only supposed to sell personal items and not his career memorabilia.
https://twitter.com/AdrianPeterson/status/1760464678616993952?s=20
“I want to clarify recent rumors and media reports,” Peterson said. “An estate sale company, without my authorization, included some of my trophies in a 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.”
Peterson continues, saying that he’d worked very hard to earn that hardware and would never sell it to make some money.
“They clearly did something unlawful. I want to emphasize that I am financially stable and would never sell off my hard-earned trophies. If I was going to sell them, I know people that I could sell them to. I wouldn’t go online and sell my personal items randomly, so let that sink in,” he continued. “It’s concerning that the media outlets did not verify this with my publicist or me, because a lot of you guys have my number. But it is what it is; I just wanted to address this and put it in my own words.”
According to USA Today, Peterson has had some financial issues, including a legal battle over attempts to seize his property in several storage units. It stemmed from a Pennsylvania lending company loaning him $5.2 million, which he failed to repay despite promising to do so by March 2017.
At the time, the Vikings picked up his $18 million player option, and Peterson’s income dropped, making it harder for him to make good on his debts.
