The NFL records still held by O.J. Simpson (2024)

(NEXSTAR) — Former Buffalo Bills star O.J. Simpson has died, his family confirmed Thursday morning.

The Bills drafted Simpson as the first overall pick in 1969, a year after he won the Heisman Trophy while playing at USC. He would go on to be MVP in 1973, and was the league leader in rushing yards multiple times in the 1970s.

Simpson played 11 NFL seasons — nine with the Bills, where he became known as “The Juice” with an offensive line known as “The Electric Company,” and two with the San Francisco 49ers. He won four NFL rushing titles, rushed for 11,236 yards in his career, scored 76 touchdowns and played in five Pro Bowls. He was later inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985.

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When he retired, Simpson held (or shared) the record for seven different stats, according to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. At the time of his death, the 76-year-old still held a few of them.

During the 14-game 1973 season, Simpson became the first back in the NFL to rush for over 2,000 yards — specifically, he recorded 2,003 yards thanks to a 200-yard game in the last game of the season, according to the Bills. That’s the most of any Bills player on record.

In that same season, Simpson recorded an average of 143.1 yards rushing per game, a record that still holds today. Among modern-day players, only Adrian Peterson and Derrick Henry have come close, recording 131.1 yards in 2012, and 126.7 yards in 2020, respectively.

Simpson shares another record with Peterson and Henry: the most games with 200 yards or more rushing. All three have recorded six games, but, with Henry still in the league, we could soon see Simpson fall from the top of that podium.

Henry is also one big game away from toppling another Simpson record: the most games with 250 yards or more rushing. Simpson has two — a 250-yard game against the New England Patriots in 1973, and a 273-yard game against the Detroit Lions in 1976.

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In both seasons, Simpson twice had consecutive games in which he surpassed 200 yards rushing, more than any other back has recorded thus far.

“I was part of the history of the game,” Simpson said years after his career ended. “If I did nothing else in my life, I’d made my mark.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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