Cam Newton breaks down ex-NFL star Adrian Peterson's $12,000,000 debt debacle: "That's trash"

Former NFL running back Adrian Peterson may have made millions as one of the best players in the game. Recently though, he has had some financial woes that have caused him to forfeit some of his assets.

On Wednesday morning, former NFL quarterback Cam Newton shared his thoughts on Peterson's financial issues on his "4th and 1 Show." Newton expressed concern over how Peterson ended up with a $12 million debt, particularly upset by rumors of him taking out a $5 million loan to pay for his birthday party.

"I think, if he took out a loan to throw a party...that's waste management. That's trash. That is astronomical. That is invigilance at it's all time high. That is something weird, thoughtless. I don't think there's a word in the Webster's dictionary that can really express the inability to think." [0:58]

Newton continued by giving his opinion on the financial woes that some people typically run into:

"There's a three-lettered word that a lot of people don't understand. And it's called tax. State tax. Federal tax. These taxes will have to get paid with or without you understanding it. That's how you get in debt."

Cam Newton then went on to talk about the importance of finance education and helping professional athletes learn how to spend and save their money.

"Can you blame a person, who all he wanted to do in this world was to be a good football player? Name me a person who has good financial understanding in college right now...in the NFL right now."

"This whole debacle for Adrian Peterson is no different. He is a public figure that a lot of people see and they judge. These statistics are real. We've created a type of living that's really the 1%." [4:43]

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Adrian Peterson was ordered by a judge to turn over $12.5 million in assets

Running back Adrian Peterson made $100 million during his NFL career. Just a few weeks ago, a judge in Houston, Texas ordered Peterson to surrender his assets to pay off $12.5 million in debt that he had accrued.

In 2016, Adrian Peterson took out a loan for $5.2 million from a lender in Pennsylvania. He failed to pay back the loan along with the interest that accrued on it and additional legal fees, which totaled the $12.5 million that he currently owes.

An auction of his assets, which includes his NFL jerseys, trophies and other memorabilia, will take place in the near future. The former Minnesota Vikings running back stated in February 2024 that he would never allow his trophies to be auctioned, however, the judge has decided otherwise.