O.J. Simpson Net Worth

How much is O.J. Simpson worth?

About O.J. Simpson

O.J. Simpson, “The Juice”, is a former American football player and Hollywood actor. Despite having been one of the best NFL players for five years straight in the 70s, playing for the Buffalo Bills, and having a starring role in the iconic Naked Gun film series. O.J. Simpson is likely best known for being put on trial for the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman, in 1994.

After being acquitted of all criminal charges; ironically, in 1997, he was found guilty for their wrongful deaths and ordered to pay $33,500,000 in damages. There have been several TV shows and documentaries made about Simpson, most famously The People vs. O.J. Simpson, in which O.J. Simpson was played by Cuba Gooding Jr.

In the late 1980s, Simpson starred in Naked Gun: Files From The Police Squad. Naked Gun was an adaptation of the 70s TV show, Police Squad!, and though that show was cancelled after just six episodes, it proved to be much more successful in the medium of film. It spawned two sequels in the 90s, both of which Simpson starred in and were as successful as the original.

The film series, led by Leslie Nielsen, has grossed a total of $350 million worldwide, and that’s not including DVD and syndication sales, as the films have gone on to become iconic and some of the most popular 80s and 90s comedies there are. We imagine these movies have become a little harder for audiences to watch however, given Simpson’s heavy involvement in them.

More famously than his role in The Naked Gun, and more famously than his tenure with the Buffalo Bills, O.J. is best known for the trial of The People vs. O.J. Simpson, in which he was accused of murdering his ex-wife and her friend. Many signs seemed to point toward O.J. committing these crimes however he was acquitted of all charges.

It was thanks, in no small part, to a team of lawyers including Robert Kardashian and Johnnie Cochran, who famously came up with the slogan, “if it doesn’t fit, you must acquit,” after the glove that was found on the murder scene didn’t seem to fit O.J.’s hand.

According to The Washington Post, a poll revealed that in 2016, 83% of white Americans and 57% of black Americans believe Simpson probably committed the murders.

In 2008, the half of the world that was on his side found out that Simpson may actually have been capable of murder, as he was charged with multiple felonies, most notably armed robbery and kidnapping. For O.J.’s crimes, the jury sentenced him to between 9 and 33 years in prison. The disgraced football hero didn’t even spend the minimum time in prison however, as he was let out just short of nine years into his sentence.

Thanks to Simpson’s athleticism, he was awarded one of the best contracts in NFL history at the time, he was offered a five-year contract, with a guaranteed salary of $650,000 per year. Even in the 1990s, outside of the money he was making from the NFL and appearances in the Naked Gun movies, O.J. had a monthly income of an estimated $55,000, which would be close to an estimated $101,000 per month adjusted for inflation.

Most of this additional income was derived from his work as the commercial spokesperson for the car rental company, Hertz. An endorsement deal that likely earned O.J. Simpson millions. In fact, during his divorce from Nicole Brown Simpson it was revealed in legal filings that O.J. Simpson had a peak net worth of an estimated $10.8 million, in 1992. Which is about $21.6 million in 2022 after adjusting for inflation. While the dollar has weakened to about half is previous value however, the purchasing power of the dollar has also increased. And so it isn’t so dissimilar as some websites I have found seem to make it to out to be.

A common misbelief is that O.J. got the nickname “Juice” because the abbreviation of his name, O.J., stands for orange juice, and though that might be a minor reason, it isn’t the main one. As Juice is a synonym for electricity, and as O.J. had a kinetic personality and was full of energy both on and off the field, that is what he became known for.

Simpson was extremely athletic; he wasn’t awarded one of the best salaries in the NFL at the time for no reason. The football player rushed over 1000 yards in 1972, and in the following year he became the first ever player to rush over 2000 yards in just one season. And topping off an insane run, Simpson ended 1975 by rushing more than 1800 years and scoring 16 touchdowns. The athlete is still regarded as one of the best American footballers of all time, O.J. played in six pro bowls and was even inducted in to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the mid-80s.

O.J. Simpson was considered charming and very charismatic, which is why the American public had fallen in love with him outside of his amazing football performances. He seemed to have the whole package, even the celebrated director James Cameron considered him for the titular role in The Terminator, and though the role eventually went to Arnold Schwarzenegger, it’s crazy to imagine O.J. Simpson as the part.

Summing-Up

Simpson had a great sports career in the 70s, and he had a just as great movie career in the 80s, but now O.J. Simpson’s name has been tarnished. His eventual convictions and 33 year prison sentence in 2008 showed the American people just what O.J. Simpson was capable of.

While O.J. Simpson’s peak net worth is an estimated $20 million dollars. As of 2023, O.J. Simpson’s net worth is estimated to be just $2 million. From what we can gather his main source of income is from his NFL pension which pays somewhere between $1,700 and $25,000 a month, according to Town & Country.