Who is better, Simpson or Payton?
O.J. Simpson leads with a GOAT score of 87.7 against 87.6 for Walter Payton — a gap of 0.1 points on GOAT Rank's weighted model.
AthletesTeams
Simpson vs Payton
Shareable comparison — send this exact matchup to anyone.
Quick answer
GOAT Rank currently ranks O.J. Simpson above Walter Payton: 87.7 vs 87.6. O.J. Simpson leads on Peak, Statistics, Dominance. Walter Payton leads on Longevity.
How the GOAT Score is calculated →GOAT verdictgoatrank.world
SimpsonWinner
87.7Simpson wins: Dominance, Peak, Honours, Statistics
Payton
87.6Payton wins: Longevity
Candidates
Locked to American FootballShareable URL · /compare/oj-simpson-vs-walter-payton
Time range
Showing full careers. Pick a window to recalculate the selected period.
Category radar
Verdict
Weighted GOAT score
🇺🇸 O.J. Simpson
87.7
Simpson leads in 4 of 5 weighted categories.
1. O.J. Simpson
2. Walter Payton
Category breakdown
Season form · Form index per season
Career timeline · Form index per season
Cumulative output season by season — the shape of each career against the other.
GOAT pace tracker
Career stage · GOAT pace
Through season 5 · Form index per season1. 🇺🇸 Walter Payton5 seasons played · career day 1,8256,926 touchdowns
Setting the pace at this stage
2. 🇺🇸 O.J. Simpson5 seasons played · career day 1,8255,181 touchdowns
-25.2% vs Payton at the same stage
| Ghost race · career day | 30 | 100 | 365 | 1000 | 1825 | 3650 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇺🇸 Simpson | 0 | 0 | 697 | 1,185 | 5,181 | 10,183 |
| 🇺🇸 Payton | 0 | 0 | 679 | 2,069 | 6,926 | 11,625 |
Careers are aligned from debut; the first 5 season periods are measured against the same career window.
Fan vote — data vs the people
GOAT Rank · the data
Simpson87.7
Payton87.6
FAQ
Where does Payton beat Simpson?
Payton scores higher on longevity. Simpson leads on peak, dominance, honours, statistics.
How is the Simpson vs Payton score calculated?
Both are scored on peak, dominance, honours, statistics, longevity within their sport. Simpson: 87.7, Payton: 87.6.
What do you think?
0 commentsMake your case for Simpson vs Payton. The scoring is published in full — if you can point at the pillar or the weight you disagree with, we read it. Read the methodology paper.