By Grace Pohl
Staff Intern 

A 'fiscally fit' O.J. Simpson chases freedom once again

Crunch Time

 

Last updated 7/27/2017 at 12:51pm



This is my first time writing for this column and I did not know what I was going to write. I was trying to think of something timely to write about in the sports world, which is hard when it feels like only baseball is on. Then O.J. Simpson’s parole happened. That is pretty timely.

I admit I was not alive when his first trial happened. My parents were just graduating high school. But I have always found the case so interesting. I have even watched the Netflix series “American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson.”

So when his parole for his armed robbery arrest from 2011 came up last Wednesday, I was all glued in like most of Americans. I was not surprised when he was granted parole, even though he only served nine years of his 33 year sentence. Anybody else find it weird that one of the parole board members was wearing a Kansas City Chiefs tie?

Anyways, Simpson’s whole history is pretty crazy to me. He was the Heisman trophy winner, No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft, had a successful 11 years playing in the league and had “the trial of the century.”

But with this new story of him being free as soon as Oct. 1 of this year, the most mind blowing fact is how much money the guy made from sitting in a jail cell for nine years.

According to ESPN, if Simpson has not touched his NFL pension, you know due to being in jail, he has been collecting $10,565 a month. If you multiply that by his 57 months in prison, after turning 65 – he just turned 70 this month – that is $602,205. He has literally made six figures by just being a prisoner.

How does that add up to being that much money? To begin with, Simpson played for 11 seasons in the NFL, 1969-1979. According to the same ESPN article, NFL players who played before 1982 receives a pension credit of $250 per season a month. $250 x 11 seasons calculate to $2,750 a month.

Now a part of a settlement back in 2011, former players were given an extra $124 a month per season in seasons played before 1975 and $108 a month per season in subsequent years. Simpson played six seasons before and five seasons after, which means (6 x $124) + (5 x $108) add $1,284 to the total. Now Simpson is up to $4,034 a month.

So if Simpson elected back in the day to receive his pension at age 55, he would have made $4,034 a month. If that is the case, he would be paid for his 105 months in jail totaling to $423,570. But if he waited until turning 65, he would make 2.619 times that amount, making his pension $10,565 a month. Times that by 57 months in jail, you get $602,205.

When I first learned this, I thought there is no way he can get this money, the NFL will take it away. Wrong. NFL pension is protected by the state law. It cannot be taken away from “The Juice.”

I guess it pays to be in jail if you are O.J. Simpson.

Grace Pohl can be reached at grace@cheneyfreepress.com.

 

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