Category profile
- Dominance
- 88
- Peak
- 98
- Longevity
- 74
- Honours
- 86
- Statistics
- 94
Career timeline · Touchdowns per season
| Season | Touchdowns per season | Share of career |
|---|---|---|
| 1969 | 697 | |
| 1970 | 488 | |
| 1971 | 742 | |
| 1972 | 1251 | |
| 1973 | 2003 | |
| 1974 | 1125 | |
| 1975 | 1817 | |
| 1976 | 1503 | |
| 1977 | 557 | |
| 1978 | 593 | |
| 1979 | 460 |
Data sources
- NFL.com
- Pro Football Reference
- Pro Football Hall of Fame
Figures come from public records and are normalised per sport. See the methodology for category weights. Method
Why O.J. Simpson ranks #38 in American Football
O.J. Simpson ranks 38th among American Football athletes on GOAT Rank and 1052nd of 2289 across every sport in the index. The published GOAT Score of 87.7 is the weighted result of five verified category scores: Dominance 88, Peak 98, Longevity 74, Honours 86, Statistics 94. Those categories are normalised against the full American Football reference universe of 381 records, not a shortlist, so the position reflects the whole sport rather than a handful of famous names.
The record covers 1969–1979 with 11 documented competitive seasons. The strongest single season in that series is 1973, which sets the Peak component at 98. Peak is the defining strength of the profile at 98 out of 100, and it carries 20% of the final score. The underlying career record includes rushing titles 4, yards in 1973 2003, mvp awards 1, pro bowls 6.
Immediately ahead sits Jack Youngblood on 87.7, a gap of 0.0 points. Directly behind is Walter Payton on 87.6. The position moves whenever the verified record moves: new titles, new seasons or a corrected source all feed straight back into the same formula, and every change is dated on this profile.
O.J. Simpson GOAT Score explained
- Dominance88/100 · weight 25%
- Measures how far Simpson stood above the field while competing. Scored 88/100 against the full American Football cohort.
- Peak98/100 · weight 20%
- Rates the best sustained stretch of the career, centred on 1973. Scored 98/100.
- Longevity74/100 · weight 20%
- Rewards staying at that level over time: 10 years of competition and 11 recorded seasons. Scored 74/100.
- Honours86/100 · weight 20%
- Counts documented titles, majors and awards in the verified record. Scored 86/100.
- Statistics94/100 · weight 15%
- Normalises the raw career numbers against everyone in the sport reporting the same metric. Scored 94/100.
Top Simpson comparisons
O.J. Simpson — frequently asked
- Is O.J. Simpson the GOAT?
- Not on the current data. O.J. Simpson ranks 38th in American Football with a GOAT Score of 87.7, behind Tom Brady on 97.2.
- What is O.J. Simpson's GOAT Score?
- 87.7 out of 100. It is the weighted sum of Dominance 88 (25%), Peak 98 (20%), Longevity 74 (20%), Honours 86 (20%), Statistics 94 (15%), computed from the verified career record.
- Where does O.J. Simpson rank all time?
- 1052nd of 2289 eligible athletes in the cross-sport index, and 38th within American Football.
- O.J. Simpson vs Jack Youngblood: who ranks higher?
- O.J. Simpson, on 87.7 against Jack Youngblood's 87.7 — a margin of 0.0 points.