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How O.J. Simpson Achieved a Net Worth of $3 Million

SimpOJ Simpson

O.J .Simpson is a former American football player who played as a running back in the NFL for 11 seasons, and has a net worth of $3 million. O.J. has also been a broadcaster and actor, featuring in famous movies such as ‘The Naked Gun’ and ‘Capricorn One’, in addition to his advertising and endorsing brands such as Hertz.

He has also faced many expensive lawsuits, contributing to reducing his net worth. Read along for more details on O.J. Simpson net worth, accomplishments, and shortcomings.

O.J. Simpson's Early Life

O.J. Simpson was born in San Francisco on September 7 1947, to James Lee Simpson and Eunice Durden. He was raised in a family of three siblings; his brother Melvin Leon Simpson and two sisters, Carmelita Simpson and Shirley Simpson. His parents separated in 1952.

He contracted rickets as a child and had to wear homemade braces from 3 to 5 years old. Still in his childhood, in 1960, he joined a street gang in San Francisco, ‘Persian Warriors’, which got him jailed at the San Francisco Youth Guidance Centre two years later, in 1962.

Simpson started playing football at Galileo High School in San Francisco and joined City College of San Francisco between 1965-1966. His exemplary footballing abilities got him on the Junior College All-American team, where he played as a running back. He soon earned an athletic scholarship to the University of South California in 1967-1968. Buffalo Bills selected him in 1969 after choosing to attend the University of California, offering him one of the most lucrative sports contracts at the time, paying him $650,00 for over five years.

1972 was His Year

Though he struggled to gain traction in the first three years despite the huge pay, he finally gained his foot in 1972 and became unstoppable in the league, and the Bills extended his contract. He won the Sports Magazine ‘Man of the Year' for five consecutive years (1972-1976) and made remarkable accomplishments and recognitions in the league.

In 1977 his contract with the Bills was terminated due to injury, and he was traded to the San Francisco 49ers, where he lasted for two seasons. He played his last game in the NFL in 1979, ending it with 14 receiving touchdowns and 61 rushing touchdowns. At the time of his NFL retirement, Simpson earned $806,600. After retirement from professional football, he joined football commentary alongside his acting career.

OJ's Profile

Name Orenthal James (O.J) Simpson
Date Of Birth Jul 9, 1947
Place if Birth San Francisco
Gender Male
Height 6 ft (1.85 m)
Profession American Football Player, Actor, Film Producer
Nationality American
Net Worth $3 Million

 

O.J Simpson’s Acting Career

O.J Simpson kick started his acting career while negotiating his contract with the Buffalo’s, where he appeared in the first episode of Medical Centre. Simpson appeared on episodes of ‘Ironside' and ‘Dragnet’ in 1968 and several TV shows in the 1970s, including the miniseries ‘Roots’. He also appeared in several films, including ‘The Towering Inferno’ and ‘Capricorn One’ in 1972. He was also featured in the ‘O.J Simpson: Juice On the Loose’ documentary in the same year.

O.J started ‘Orenthal Production’ in 1979, a film production company which produced some of his films as he continued acting through the 1980s and 90s. Most notably, he appeared in the ‘The Naked Gun’ comedy spoof series, which went viral then.

Simpson filmed a pilot of ‘Frogman’ an NBC television series which never aired due to his murder charges and trial. In 2006, he released a hidden camera prank show, ‘Juiced’, which aired as a special Pay Per View and was later released as a DVD.

He also acted in other movies, including:

  • Cade’s County
  • Killer Force
  • Frogmen
  • CIA Code Name: Alexa

O.J Simpson’s Endorsements and Real Estate

O.J accumulated substantial wealth from product endorsements after retiring from football. He endorsed multiple brands, including Honey Baked Ham, Pioneer Chicken, Chevrolet and Hertz Rental Cars.

Simpson also invested in real estate and owned several properties in San Francisco and other major cities. He bought a 6,200 square home in Brentwood, California, for $650,000 in 1977 and sold it for $4 million in 1997. He also bought a 5,000 sq ft home in Florida, which he sold in 2000 for $575,000.

O.J Simpson’s Car Collection

O.J Simpson owns a Lexus GX, which cost him $160, 000 and a recently acquired Jaguar XE worth $80,000. Other cars owned by O.J include an Audi Q and a BMW X5.

O.J’s Life of Crime and Conviction

In 1967, O.J Simpson married his childhood girlfriend, Marguerite Whitley and had three children Aaren, Arnelle, and Jason. O.J and Marguerite later divorced in 1979 after twelve years of marriage, and Simson began dating a nightclub waitress Nicole Brown whom he later married in 1985.

The two had two children, Sydney and Justin, but divorced in 1992, though they continued having a contemptuous relationship. During the divorce settlement, O.J agreed to pay Nicole $10,000 per month as child support and a one-time payment of $730,00. The settlement terms of service indicated that O.J had a monthly income of $55,000 at that time (1962), with most of his income coming from his Hertz endorsement contract. In a court filing, he estimated his net worth to be $10.8 million.

On June 12, 1994, Nicole Brown was found murdered outside her Brentwood Condo along with her friend Ron Goldman. Ron was a waiter at a restaurant where Nicole and her family and children dined after her daughter’s dance recital.

O.J Simpson was arrested for both murders and the ‘trial of the century’ began. The case proceedings were one of the most publicized cases in American history, attracting attention from all over the country.

O.J was found liable for the two deaths in a civil trial on October 3 1995, and ordered to pay $33.5 million in punitive damages— $25 million to Brown’s family and $8.5 million to Goldman’s. As a result of the ordered payments, Simpson’s every penny outside his pension money goes to the Brown and Goldman families, to help settle outstanding amounts from the civil judgment.

O.J Simpson in More Legal Trouble?

After the trial, O.J Simpson moved to Florida, where he continued to get into more legal problems. Following the enormous payments for the damages, O.J sold his Heisman Trophy for $23,00, and in 2007 he accepted the publication of his ghostwritten book ‘If I Did It’ for $600,000. Florida bankruptcy court gave the rights of the book to the Goldman Family to contribute to the payment of the damages.

The California state put a lien on O.J’s assets in 1999 for back taxes he owed, and in the following year, he unsuccessfully tried to trademark his name. In 2001, he got into a traffic dispute resulting in a burglary in Miami. In the same year, the FBI raided his Florida home in a search for money laundering evidence and ecstasy.

O.J Simpson was later arrested in 2007 alongside a group of men and charged with felony charges of kidnapping and armed robbery. He was convicted in 2008 and sentenced to 33 years in prison. He was granted parole in 2017 after serving his minimum sentence of nine years.

Some Light on O.J’s Finances

While most of his money goes out to help clear the $33.5 million charge to the Goldman family, O.J has a fully funded personal pension protected by the law from judicial judgment or bankruptcy.

The pension is valued between $2 to $5 million, depending on the management and performance of the assets. He also gets a $10,600 monthly pension from the NFL and a Screen Actors Guild pension which pays him around $1700 monthly. All these pensions are off limits to the Goldman family, therefore, they can’t be deducted from his accounts.

O.J Simpson’s Major Career Awards and Achievements

Here are O.J’s major awards in his football career:

  • Heisman Trophy
  • AP's most valuable player
  • Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year
  • Associated Press NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award
  • He was also the fastest player to gain 2000 rushing yards in a season in NFL

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Garrett Parker

Written by Garrett Parker

Garrett by trade is a personal finance freelance writer and journalist. With over 10 years experience he's covered businesses, CEOs, and investments. However he does like to take on other topics involving some of his personal interests like automobiles, future technologies, and anything else that could change the world.

Read more posts by Garrett Parker

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