Memorabilia sales spike after the death of O.J. Simpson

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Since O.J. Simpson’s death, people have spoken about the former NFL star’s checkered past and his time living in Las Vegas, which has also caused a spike in demand for memorabilia.

Simpson’s name has sparked controversy since the 1990s, when he was charged and later acquitted of the murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Ronald Goldman.

Simpson was later found liable for both murders in a civil trial and ordered to pay both the Brown and Goldman families $33.5 million in damages.

The 76-year-old who died of prostate cancer Wednesday was living in Las Vegas after serving nine years in prison in the state for robbery and kidnapping.

As the entire country looks back at his life, memorabilia shops said they are seeing a huge spike in demand.

“Phone calls have been going nonstop,” Tyler Feldman, CEO of Inscriptagraphs Memorabilia, said. “So the craze is real.”

Feldman said he received dozens of requests for signed jerseys, rookie cards, and helmets. Many are fans of Simpson’s football career, Feldman said, but others who want to collect are focused on his name and its history.

“I think there’s that element of the conversation piece,” Feldman said. “I think people wanted to have that item in their collection that just sparked a little interest.”

However, he also said when any well known person dies, the market for collectibles changes, which means more scams.

“You are going to have a lot of predators online,” Feldman said. “They are definitely going to try to take advantage of people.”

He encouraged anyone looking for pieces to do their research and make sure everything is authenticated.

He called this just one portion of a narrative that will be talked about for years to come.

“O.J. Simpson is a story,” Feldman concluded.

Simpson was released from Lovelock Prison in Oct. 2017 after serving his prison sentence. He lived in Las Vegas until he died.

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