O.J. Simpson Made $1.2 Million Not to Publish a Book or Appear on TV

Okay, there’s one more O.J.-Judith wrinkle today worth mentioning (and, boy, do we hope it’s the last one). Court TV got hold of Simpson’s If I Did It contract with HarperCollins, part of a lawsuit Fred Goldman filed to try to recover the money Simpson owes after losing the 1997 wrongful-death suit. Slate’s Timothy Noah, together with some unnamed literary-agent friends of his, examined the document and finds some interesting points. According to Noah, under the terms of the agreement, Simpson is already owed at least $780,000, even though the book was pulped. He may be due $95,000 more, depending on whether a book is considered “published” when it’s shipped from the warehouse or when it’s rung up at the cash register. He’s also owed $400,000 for the unaired If I Did It TV special, because the contract stipulated he would be paid for being interviewed, whether or not the interview aired. Finally, Simpson apparently wanted to sign the contact under an assumed name and stipulated he would sign as “Sam Jones,” perhaps taking the name from the sixties Celtics star. Despite that clause, the contract doesn’t actually bear that signature: In what might have been the company’s only smart move in this transaction, they insisted O.J. sign his own name.

O.J.’s Book Contract [Slate]
Hollywood Heat Exclusive: Contract Details Payments Between Simpson and HarperCollins [Court TV]