Ex-NFL superstar Clinton Portis says he loaded up a pistol in an effort to hunt down and KILL one of the people he blames for blowing his fortune ... but had a change of heart at the last minute.
Portis says it all went down in 2013 ... he stalked an office building in Washington D.C. on several nights with the hopes of confronting one of the people who managed his money.
But Clinton wasn't looking for a fight -- telling SI.com, "It wasn't no beat up ... it was kill.