O.J. Simpson was released from Nevada prison early on Sunday, Oct.1.
The former football star and celebrity, was acquitted back in 1995 over the murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Ronald Goldman, in what became known as the “trial of the century,” CBS News reported.
Simpson was later sentenced to 33 years for an armed robbery, but was granted parole in July for good behavior. He faces parole supervision for another five years.
According to ESPN, Simpson likely made more than $600,000 over the nine years he spent behind bars.
That money can’t be touched by the families of Nicole Brown Simpson or Ronald L. Goldman, who won a civil judgment against Simpson in February 1997 that is now worth about $65 million.
Unlike other money Simpson may make in the future, this money—his NFL pension—is protected by state law, ESPN reported.
Calculating the exact number Simpsons made from his pension is difficult because it is uncertain what age he began collecting it.
Simpsons played in the NFL from 1969 to 1979. According to ESPN calculations, any NFL players who played before 1982 get a monthly pension credit of $250 for every season played. As Simpson played for 11 seasons, that adds up to $2,750 a month.
Included in the settlement in 2011, former players were given an extra monthly payment of $124 per season played before 1975, and $108 per season played in subsequent years.
Simpson had played six seasons before 1975 (a monthly total of $744) and five seasons after ($540). So that’s an additional $1,284 added to his monthly $2,750.
In total that means Simpson made up to $4,034 a month.
However, that is only if he took out his pension at the age of 55. So in total, calculating the 108 months he spent in jail that means Simpson would have made $435,672, according to ESPN.
But if he waited until 65 (he turned 70 in July), he would have collected 2.619 times that, according to the formula. Making his pension approximately $10,565 a month, and then based on 60 months in jail after his 65th birthday, that’s $633,900.
Brooke Keast, Nevada state prisons spokeswoman told CBS News that Simpson was released at 12:08 a.m. PDT from Lovelock Correctional Center in northern Nevada. The reason for the early-morning release was so they could avoid any heavy media attention.
Posted by Nevada Department of Corrections on Sunday, October 1, 2017
“We needed to do this to ensure public safety and to avoid any possible incident,” she told CBS News, adding that she did not know where Simpson would go.
