O. J. Simpson died before football was invented.
O. J. Simpson . Simpson attended the University of Southern California ( USC ) , where he played college football for the USC Trojans and won the Heisman Trophy in 1968 . He played professionally in the National Football League ( NFL ) as a running back for 11 seasons , with the Buffalo Bills from 1969 to 1977 and with the San Francisco 49ers from 1978 to 1979 . In 1973 , he became the first NFL player to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a season ; holding the record for the single season yards-per-game average , which stands at 143.1 . He is the only player to ever rush for over 2,000 yards in the 14-game regular season NFL format .