FORMER NFL star OJ Simpson has died of cancer at the age of 76.

Simpson was a running back for the Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers from 1969 to 1979, before being acquitted of murder in a trial in the mid-1990s.

News of Simpson’s death was announced by his children on Twitter today.

“On April 10th, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer,” read a statement.

“He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren. During this time of transition, his family asks that you please respect their wishes for privacy and grace. — The Simpson Family”

Simpson became one of the most notorious figures in US history when he was charged with the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman in 1994.

His trial was televised around the country and, although he was acquitted, he was later found liable for their deaths in a civil lawsuit and was ordered to pay £26.7 million to the families of the victims.

In 2017 he was released from prison after serving nine years of a 33-year sentence for armed robbery and kidnapping having been arrested in Las Vegas a decade earlier.

Simpson was also an actor and starred in a number of successful films, including Towering Inferno and Naked Gun, in a Hollywood career that began in 1974 while in the middle of his playing career.

He had been a popular figure in the US because of his sporting prowess and he is still recognised as one of the NFL’s great running backs.

He was named Most Valuable Player in 1973 after becoming the first player to rush for over 2,000 yards in a season, one of a host of records that saw him admitted into the Hall of Fame in 1985.

But having carved out a fruitful career as a broadcaster and actor once he retired from the 49ers, he was propelled to global infamy in 1994 when he attempted to escape police in a low speed car chase in LA.

The chase was broadcast live to an estimated audience of 95 million and when the “trial of the century” was also televised, his case became one of the most followed in history.

Simpson, nicknamed “The Juice,” revealed in February that he was undergoing treatment for prostate cancer. He is survived by four children from two different marriages.