Immediately after Adrian Peterson was hit with a child abuse charge in 2014, motor oil company Castrol cancelled its contract with the NFL running back.
Castrol had originally signed Peterson in 2013 to help publicly promote some of their products, including synthetic car oil Castrol EDGE. But after Peterson’s legal issues arose and Castrol cancelled the contract, they requested he return a portion of advance payments they had made to him.
According to a Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit filed earlier this week, Peterson still has not repaid that money. Now Castrol is seeking $60,540 from Peterson, the New York Post reports.
Castrol claims they nixed the deal under a clause in the contract that specifically outlined “embarrassment” or “scandal.” The argument could obviously be made that Peterson violated both of those terms after he allegedly struck his 4-year-old son with a wooden spoon.
Peterson and Castrol went into arbitration in 2020 with Castrol having prevailed in 2021. However, Peterson and his management company — Adrian Peterson All Day Inc. — allegedly have yet to pay up.
“To date, [Peterson’s company] has failed to pay the award, in whole or in part,” the filing states.
In addition to the arbitration award, Castrol is also requesting a judge force Peterson to pay nine percent interest.
Peterson, the NFL’s all-time leading rusher, last played in 2021 as a member of both the Seattle Seahawks and Tennessee Titans. His career earnings eclipse $103 million.
