Numerous items belonging to the All-Pro running back -- including his 2012 Most Valuable Player and 2007 Rookie of the Year trophies -- hit the auction block this week ... which led many to wonder if Peterson had fallen on hard times and was looking to make a quick buck after earning more than $100 million on the field throughout his career.

The former first-round pick cleared the air on Wednesday ... saying he was just as shocked as everyone else when news of the auction made rounds on social media.

"I want to clarify recent rumors and media reports," Peterson said in a video. "An estate sale company without my authorization included some of my trophies in a sale, despite clear instructions to leave personal items untouched."

Peterson's rep, Denise White, further explained to TMZ Sports he had a storage unit full of old stuff ... so he hired the Texmax Auctions company to get rid of whatever he didn't want anymore -- but he had no intent to include anything of personal value.

Worth noting -- Peterson made his way around the league during his lengthy career ... so we're told he had several storage units throughout the country and had no clue these specific items would be included.

White tells us they've made several attempts to make contact with the company to fix the issue ... but have not heard back as of this post.

Peterson continued ... "I did not authorize the sale of my trophies and am taking legal action. Trusting the 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."