O. J. Simpson played a sport.
American football , referred to as football in the United States and Canada , and also known as `` gridiron football '' or simply `` gridiron '' , is a sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end . The National Football League ( NFL ) is a professional American football league consisting of 32 teams , divided equally between the National Football Conference ( NFC ) and the American Football Conference ( AFC ) . Orenthal James `` O. J. '' Simpson ( born July 9 , 1947 ) , nicknamed The Juice , is a former American football running back , broadcaster , actor , and convicted armed robber and kidnapper . 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 .