“I’m looking for a home,” free agent running back Dalvin Cook recently said on The Rich Eisen Show. The four-time Pro Bowler, who was released last week by the Vikings, is referring to a new team, one from which he reportedly expects a "significant contract."
Cook, 27, will also need a new home in the literal sense. His old one in Inver Grove Heights hit the market five days ago for $1.75 million.
"Truly a ONE-OF-A-KIND property," raves the listing from Keller Williams Select Realty. "You will NOT want to miss this property!!"
Built atop five acres in 1991, the five-bedroom, five-bathroom, 4,800-square-foot house at 11151 Akron Ave. is unmistakably Cook's. His Insta-filtered portrait hangs above the sectional couch; his game balls sit below the TV and above the cabinetry; a trophy rests alongside cereal boxes; the purple-painted basement bar is loaded with memorabilia. (Packer haters will want to ignore his framed Aaron Jones jersey.) And then there's the humongous purple beanbag chair that dominates the family room the way Cook dominated defenses for 7,787 total yards and 52 touchdowns over six seasons with the Vikes.
Among the other rich-guy amenities boasted by the aesthetically decade-specific property: the previously mentioned "custom pub," gym, "championship" tennis court, in-ground swimming pool, gazebos, two outbuildings, and a pond. The place is painted gray today but, interestingly, the photo on file with Dakota County seems to depict a total purple exterior paintjob. That's a team player.
Since joining the Vikings as a 2017 second-round draft pick, Cook has earned $32.2 million, per Spotrac, and is reportedly seeking around $10 million per year from a TBD new team. Safe to say he'll have no issues getting pre-qualified for a new mortgage. Cook acquired 11151 Akron Ave. three years ago for $1.1 million, according to county records, so he stands to make a tidy profit.
The house came into public focus twice over the years—once grimly, once puff-piece-ily.
Cook was sued in 2021 by his ex-girlfriend, U.S. Army sergeant Gracelyn Trimble, over an alleged assault she says took place there the previous year; Cook countersued for defamation and fraud, with his lawyer claiming Trimble was the aggressor and held his client at gunpoint. A civil lawsuit is expected to go to trial this August in Dakota County District Court, the Pioneer Press reported last year. Elsewhere, ESPN's Courtney Cronin explored Dalvin "The Chef" Cook's growing passion for home cooking with a video feature shot inside his Inver Grove Heights kitchen. “I can’t make no family dinner or nothing, but I can make meats and the necessities for me to survive,” Cook told her. “I’m trying to get to the next level.”
Let's take a photo tour of the ol' Cook estate, courtesy of Keller Williams Select Realty.
