Chad Johnson

The Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League chose Johnson in the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft with the 36th overall pick.

In Johnson's rookie year, he saw moderate playing time, catching 28 passes for 329 yards and one touchdown.[9] In 2003, he set a Bengals franchise record by recording 1,355 receiving yards.[10] In 2004, he caught 95 passes for 9 touchdowns and 1,274 yards, including 117 receiving yards in a 58-48 win against the Cleveland Browns.[11]

Johnson surpassed his franchise record in 2005, recording 1,432 yards. He led the AFC in receiving yards for four consecutive seasons, and he made the Pro Bowl five straight times from 2003 to 2007.[12]

During the 2005 NFL season, Johnson announced that he would keep a checklist, titled who Covered 85 in '05, that would evaluate the defensive backs who successfully managed to cover him. On November 2, 2005, Marvin Lewis, the Bengals' head coach, replaced Johnson's list with another one titled, Did 85 do everything he could to lead his team to victory 11-6-05. The list, an obvious parody of the original, asked several questions regarding Johnson's performance both on and off the field. According to the Bengals' official website, the list was aimed to antagonize their divisional rival, the Baltimore Ravens, whom the Bengals would play in four days. Johnson was not pleased with the new list, as he had developed a superstitious faith in the older list. He had a stellar performance during the game, prompting the return of the original list.[13]

In 2007, Degree and Yahoo! created an online version of his checklist. The checklist allowed fans to vote for which NFL quarterback Johnson would like to play catch with the most. Every vote helped him raise money for his charity project, "Feed the Children".[14]

On April 20, 2006, Johnson signed an extension to his contract through 2011.[15]

During the first half of the 2006 season, Johnson saw little activity. After being bogged down by an early injury, his productivity endured a sharp decline. During the first eight weeks of the 2006 season, Johnson only caught two touchdown passes, while only amassing 483 yards. However, after shaving his Mohawk and changing his mentality, he had a breakout game in a losing effort against the San Diego Chargers. Johnson accumulated 260 receiving yards and scored two touchdowns, which broke the previous Bengals record for most receiving yards in a game.[16] He went on to amass 190 receiving yards and three touchdowns in a 31-16 win over the New Orleans Saints in the following week. This gave Johnson a then NFL record of 450 receiving yards in back-to-back games (to be surpassed by Josh Gordon of the Cleveland Browns, who amassed 498 yards in consecutive games in 2013), breaking the previous record of 448 set by San Francisco 49ers receiver John Taylor in 1989. In the following week, he gained 123 yards receiving, breaking the three-game receiving record since the NFL–AFL merger in 1970 and coming within 40 yards of the all-time record.

Johnson finished the 2006 season with 87 receptions for a league leading 1,369 yards and seven touchdowns. He was the first Bengal ever to lead the NFL in receiving yards. Johnson and Houshmandzadeh also became the first Bengals teammates to each amass over 1,000 receiving yards in the same season.

In addition to being one of the most productive receivers in the NFL, Johnson was also one of the most popular in balloting for the Pro Bowl. In the fan voting for the 2006 game, he finished first in votes for wide receivers, and fourth overall with 987,650 total votes.[17] Johnson earned nationwide attention for his flamboyant attitude, which was often seen during his infamous end zone celebrations after catching touchdown passes. In a list released in August 2006 by Fox Sports listing the top 10 showboats in professional sports, Johnson topped the list.[18]

In the first game of the season, on Monday Night Football against the Baltimore Ravens, Johnson scored the game's first touchdown on a 39-yard pass from Carson Palmer. Following the touchdown, he grabbed a jacket that resembles the Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees' jacket that said, "Future H.O.F. 20??" Johnson finished the game with five receptions for 95 yards and a touchdown. In the next game, against the Cleveland Browns, he racked up 209 yards on 11 catches for two touchdowns in the 51-45 loss. This gave Johnson a career total of 7,229 receiving yards, breaking the Bengals' franchise record previously held by Isaac Curtis. The very next game, against the Seattle Seahawks, he totaled nine receptions for 138 yards as the Bengals lost again. Against the New York Jets, in which the Bengals won 38-31, Johnson had three receptions for 102 yards and a rush for 15 yards.

In the fourth quarter of the Bengals' week-nine loss to the Buffalo Bills, Johnson was rolled off the field on a stretcher, with a reported head injury. He dove out for a pass, with under a minute left in the 33-21 loss, and then was sandwiched by Donte Whitner and Coy Wire. Johnson was reported to be mobile at the hospital.[19] He finished the game with three catches for 48 yards. A CT scan performed to detect nerve damage came back negative, and Johnson did not miss any games from the injury.

Over his next two games, Johnson did not score any touchdowns or gain more than 86 yards, but he had a breakout performance in a November 25 win over the Tennessee Titans, catching a career-high 12 passes for 103 yards and three touchdowns. This gave Johnson over 1,000 receiving yards for the sixth consecutive season, and moved him past Carl Pickens as the Bengals all-time leader in receptions.

By week 15, Johnson and Houshmandzadeh both gained over 1,000 receiving yards for the second year in a row. However, a loss to the San Francisco 49ers that week ensured the team would finish the year with their first losing season since 2002. In the Bengals' season finale, Johnson had four catches for 131 yards and two touchdowns in a win over the Miami Dolphins, giving him 93 receptions for 1,440 yards and 8 touchdowns on the season.

Johnson's 1,440 yards set a new Bengals' franchise record, breaking his own record of 1,432 in 2005. It was the third time that Johnson finished a season with a new Bengals record for receiving yards. His yardage was third most in the NFL, his receptions were 12th most, and his touchdowns were tied for 15th most in the league.

Johnson was passed up for the 2008 Pro Bowl team, which instead selected his teammate T. J. Houshmandzadeh. Due to injury, however, Patriots' receiver Randy Moss was forced to withdraw from the Pro Bowl, and Johnson was selected as his replacement. The selection marked his fifth consecutive Pro Bowl selection. Johnson and Houshmandzadeh became the first pair of Bengals receivers to make the Pro Bowl in the same year.[20]

Chad Johnson in 2007.

On January 13, 2008, Johnson was a guest on ESPN's Mike & Mike radio show. During the interview, he addressed how the media and team treated him during the 2007 season, saying, "I was labeled selfish and a cancer, and it hurt...Fingers were pointed at me this year. If the team and the organization wants to further itself (make the playoffs), I think you need to get rid of the problem...It hurt me. To do me that way and not to have my back. Things were said, and nobody came to my defense." However, head coach Marvin Lewis commented on the issue by saying that the Bengals would not be trading Johnson. "He is a Cincinnati Bengal for quite a while," Lewis said.[21]

On February 4, ESPN's Chris Mortensen reported that Johnson felt betrayed by Lewis and was privately threatening to sit out the 2008 season, though his agent Drew Rosenhaus denied it.[22] When asked about trade rumors, Johnson said "Call me, Dan," referring to Redskins' owner Daniel Snyder,[23] On April 22, the Cincinnati Bengals' declined a Washington Redskins' trade for Johnson involving a first round 2008 selection and a 2009 selection.[24] and on NFL Network's NFL Total Access, Johnson said he did not want a pay raise from the Bengals, but desired a "change of scenery".[25] Lewis stated he had not spoken to Johnson since the last regular season game, and reiterated his lack of interest in a trade. After several weeks of silence, in April, Johnson again announced he wanted to be traded, and caused a rift with teammates by refusing to attend off-season workout programs and practices.[26][27][28] Nine days before the opening of the Bengals' mandatory minicamp on June 12, Johnson told ESPN The Magazine that "of course I (will be)" attending,[29] confirmed by his agent.[30] After ankle surgery on June 18, Johnson returned to full practice in August.[31] He suffered a partially torn labrum in the first preseason game on August 17, but decided to play the entire season with the injury.[32][33]

On August 29, Johnson legally changed his last name to Ochocinco.

The Bengals began the season 0-8, with Carson Palmer forced out for the season with an injury incurred early in the campaign and Johnson experiencing his worst statistical season of his career to date. Johnson totaled 11 receptions for 116 yards and a touchdown in the first four games of the season, unable to gain more than 37 yards' receiving in any of the contests. Following a dismal performance (three receptions for 43 yards) against the Dallas Cowboys in a loss, Johnson had consecutive games with 50-yard receiving totals (57 against the New York Giants & 52 against the Pittsburgh Steelers). Johnson then had 44 yards on five receptions in a loss to the Houston Texans.

However, the Bengals won their first game of the season, against the Jacksonville Jaguars, in week 9 by a score of 21-19. In that game, Johnson had five receptions for 37 yards and two touchdowns. The two scores marked the first multi-touchdown game of the season for Johnson.

Johnson finished the season with 53 catches for 540 yards and four touchdowns — his worst statistical season since his rookie campaign.

Before the start of the 2009 season, the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants expressed interest in Johnson if he were to be placed on the market after he missed voluntary team offseason workouts.[34] In July 2009, Johnson said that he would use Twitter during games, but the NFL banned it.[35] In the August 20 preseason game against the New England Patriots, Johnson took over placekicking duties for the injured Shayne Graham. He kicked off and made an extra point in the game, which ended up deciding the Bengals' 7-6 win.

During the season, Johnson expressed remorse for the developments in the 2008 season and attempted to make it up to the fans in Cincinnati through numerous actions. Many of those involved public appearances (usually involving the publication of his autobiography) and also by inviting Bengals fans to dinner and movie showings through his Twitter account, gatherings for which he picked up the tab. Many of the events were featured on the Bengals' official website.

Ochocinco (left) and Terrell Owens before a game against the New England Patriots on September 12, 2010.

Johnson went on to record his seventh career 1,000 yard season, catching 72 passes for 1,047 yards and nine touchdowns. He finished the season just 48 yards short of the 10,000 career receiving yards milestone and with 62 career touchdown catches, just one short of the franchise record held by Carl Pickens.

On January 15, Johnson was announced as a Pro Bowl selection to replace Patriots receiver Wes Welker, who was injured in the final week of the regular season. It was Johnson's sixth Pro Bowl selection, tying Lemar Parrish for the second highest total in franchise history.

Johnson opened up the 2010 season with 12 receptions for 159 yards and a touchdown in the Bengals' opening day loss to the Patriots. In doing so, he tied the franchise record for touchdown catches (which he later surpassed) and became the sixth player in NFL history to amass 10,000 receiving yards with one team. The following week, Johnson became the 30th player in NFL history to surpass 700 career receptions, catching four passes for 44 yards in a 15-10 win.

Ochocinco practicing with the Patriots shortly after being traded to them.

On July 28, 2011, the New England Patriots acquired Johnson in a trade with Cincinnati after he restructured a three-year contract for $6.35 million. The Patriots traded two draft picks, a fifth round pick in 2012 and a sixth round pick in 2013.[36]

Johnson had statistically the least productive season of his career, catching 15 passes for 276 yards and one touchdown, all career lows. He was inactive for the AFC Championship game against the Baltimore Ravens after reportedly attending his father's funeral.[37] Johnson played in his first Super Bowl, catching one pass for 21 yards. His 21 yard reception was the longest pass completion for the Patriots in that Super Bowl. The Patriots lost to the New York Giants 21-17 in Super Bowl XLVI.[38]

On June 7, 2012, Johnson was released by the Patriots.[39]

Johnson signed with the Miami Dolphins on June 11, 2012.[40]

On July 24, Johnson legally changed his last name from Ochocinco back to Johnson.[41]

On August 12, the Dolphins released Johnson following his arrest the previous night.[42] The meeting in which head coach Joe Philbin notified Johnson of his release from the Dolphins was shown in the episode of HBO's Hard Knocks that originally aired on August 14.[43]

Johnson signed a two-year deal with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League on April 17, 2014.[44] During the 2014 CFL season, Johnson appeared in five regular season games, mostly due to nagging injuries and he missed two playoff games to address a personal family matter in Florida. In four of the games, Johnson accumulated seven receptions for 151 yards and scored one touchdown. Johnson did not report for mandatory training camp in the spring of 2015, and was subsequently suspended by the Alouettes. He spent the entire 2015 CFL season on team suspension.[45] Following the season, Johnson was not offered a new contract by the Alouettes and became a free agent on February 9, 2016.[46]

In March 2017, the Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional de México announced that Johnson would play one game for the Monterrey Fundidores.[47] On April 2, 2017, he caught three passes, including a 41-yard touchdown reception, to help Monterrey defeat the Saltillo Dinos, 14-6.[48][49]

As of the end of the 2019 season, Johnson held at least 10 Bengals franchise records, including:

• Receptions: career (751)
• Receiving Yds: career (10,783), season (1,440 in 2007), game (260 on November 11, 2006 against San Diego)
• Receiving TDs: career (66)
• Yds from Scrimmage: career (10,958)
• All-Purpose Yds: career (10,964)
• 100+ yard receiving games: career (31)
• Games with 1+ TD scored: career (50)
• 1000+ receiving yard seasons: 7

An iPhone game called Mad Chad was designed by both Johnson and RockLive and released on November 18, 2010.[53] It was featured on iTunes and was a popular downloaded app in 2010.

On March 1, 2010, it was announced that Johnson would be a contestant on Dancing with the Stars for the tenth season. He was paired with two-time champion Cheryl Burke. The season premiere was on Monday, March 22, 2010.[54] He was eliminated from the show as one of the final four competitors on May 18, 2010, after receiving the lowest judges' score and number of votes. He was the 100th contestant to be eliminated in the show's history.[55]

Johnson had his own segment on Sports Soup titled "Child, Please".[56]

During the 2010-2011 NFL season, he and teammate Terrell Owens teamed up for a talk show, The T. Ocho Show on Versus, talking football, basketball, and pop culture. The show was cancelled in 2011 as a result of Comcast's plans to re-launch Versus as an NBC Sports-branded service, as its new staff did not feel that the show would fit with the network's new goals.[57]

Johnson was featured on his own reality television dating show called Ochocinco: The Ultimate Catch on VH1.[58] Aspiring singer-songwriter Rubi Pazmino won the show. Fellow NFL wide receivers Terrell Owens and Bernard Berrian were occasionally featured on the show, advising Johnson throughout the process.

Ochocinco was featured as the guest host of WWE Raw on September 13, 2010.[59]

Due to the 2011 NFL Lockout, on March 16, 2011, Ochocinco announced he would have a four-day trial for Sporting Kansas City of Major League Soccer. Ochocinco was a soccer player in his youth and has stated he is an avid fan of the sport. His trial began on March 23, 2011.[60] On March 25, he was asked to play in a reserve game. On March 29, he was not offered a contract by the team but was offered the chance to train with the reserve side to stay in shape.[61]

In 2018, Johnson returned to soccer, signing for then-National Premier Soccer League side Boca Raton FC in October after a period of training. He made his debut for the club, playing as a forward, in a 1-0 win over Himmarshee FC.[62][63] He scored his first goal for the club on October 20, 2018, netting a penalty in a 2-0 win over FC Boca Predators.[64]

On March 12, 2019, Johnson re-signed with Boca Raton FC for the 2019 Spring UPSL season after the team joined the United Premier Soccer League.[65] On May 24, 2019, Johnson scored both goals in a 2-1 regular season win over the Palm Beach Breakers. [66] Boca Raton FC would go on to win the South Florida Championship of the UPSL.

In May, Ochocinco announced via his Twitter account that he would attempt to participate in a PBR event in Duluth, Georgia.[67] He rode the bull Deja Blue,[68] which weighs 1,500 pounds, and lasted 1.5 seconds during the intermission of May 14, 2011's Professional Bull Riders event.

In June 2011, Ochocinco filmed a cameo role as himself for the 2012 film American Reunion.[69][70] Ochocinco also appeared as a former captain of the BMS Goats on the Season 3 premiere of the television show Blue Mountain State and as himself on the Season 2 premiere of the television show The League.[71] He was also featured in the hit series The Game as himself.

Ochocinco was featured in a national pistachio commercial in winter 2010 and spring 2011.[72]

He was featured in the R&B singer Monica's video "Everything to Me".

Chad Ochocinco voiced himself and his likeness was featured on an episode of Squidbillies, titled "Lean Green Touchdown Makifying Machine" (Season 5, Episode 9)

He appears on the cover of EA's 2006 video game NFL Street 3. He is the main adversary in the game, and narrates the tutorials with Clinton Portis and Byron Leftwich.[73]

Ochocinco appeared naked, outside of a strategically placed football, in PETA's "Ink Not Mink" ad campaign, which encourages people to choose tattoos over wearing animal fur.[74] Johnson appeared with his mother Paula on the WeTV reality show "Marriage Bootcamp Reality Stars: Family Edition." The show, which premiered April 28, 2017, deals with unconventional therapy.

Johnson and Bart Scott exchanging words after a game in 2006.

On October 25, 2006, in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, Johnson, whose jersey number was "85", announced that he would prefer to be called "Ocho Cinco," which is "eight five" in Spanish ("Eighty-five" would be "ochenta y cinco").[85] During warm-ups for the October 29, 2006 game against the Atlanta Falcons, the back of his jersey read "Ocho Cinco" instead of "C. Johnson". Quarterback Carson Palmer ripped the label off the jersey to reveal the usual "C. Johnson".[86] According to ESPN, Johnson was fined $5,000 for the stunt despite the fact that he did not wear the "Ocho Cinco" name tag during the game.[87]

Johnson legally changed his name to Chad Javon Ochocinco on August 29, 2008.[88] The Cincinnati Bengals decided to allow him to have it on the back of his jersey,[89] though Ochocinco continued to wear his old "C. Johnson" jersey during the 2008 football season,[90] because of contractual obligations with Reebok. He played with "OCHOCINCO" on the back of his jersey from the 2009 season to the 2011 season.[91] He wanted it to read "OCHO CINCO" but the NFL would only allow his legal name as spelled on his name change paperwork.[92]

Ochocinco announced on his live USTREAM broadcast in 2009 that he would be legally changing his last name to "Hachi Go" in 2010. He also held up a customized Cincinnati Bengals jersey with the last name "Hachi Go" on the back. Just as the words Ocho Cinco translate to 8 and 5 in Spanish, the words Hachi Go (八五) translate to 8 and 5 in Japanese.[93] However, he did not go through with the name change.

On January 25, 2011, Ochocinco told an ESPN reporter that he would be changing his last name back to Johnson.[94] However, on June 30, 2011, Ochocinco told an ESPN reporter that because of financial issues, he would keep his name as Chad Ochocinco and not go back to Johnson.[95]

On July 23, 2012, after Ochocinco's move to the Miami Dolphins, he legally changed his name back to Chad Johnson at a Broward County courthouse because he "wanted to reconnect with his former self".[96]

On November 16, 2010, Ochocinco proposed to Basketball Wives star Evelyn Lozada, whom he had been dating since earlier in the year.[97]

Johnson and Lozada married on July 4, 2012. The day before the wedding, a fan reached out to Johnson on Twitter for prayers after losing her husband the previous month. Johnson, in return, invited her on an all-expenses-paid trip to the wedding.[98]

On August 11, 2012, Johnson was arrested on a charge of domestic battery according to the Davie, Florida police.[99][100] Johnson allegedly headbutted Lozada following an argument. Johnson was released the following afternoon on $2,500 bond.[101] Later that day, he was released by the Miami Dolphins.[102][103]

On August 14, 2012, Lozada filed for divorce claiming that her marriage was "irretrievably broken."[104] The divorce was finalized on September 19, 2012.[105]

On September 21, 2012, Johnson entered a plea of no contest to misdemeanor domestic battery, avoiding jail time in an agreement with prosecutors and Lozada.[106] Johnson received a year of probation.[107]

On May 7, 2013, a warrant was issued for Johnson's arrest for allegedly violating the terms of his probation.[108] According to the Broward County Sheriff's Office, Johnson failed to meet with probation specialists on February 15 and March 15, and failed to show proof of enrollment and completion of a batterers intervention program. On May 20, Johnson turned himself in and was released later in the day after posting a $1,000 bond.[109]

On June 10, 2013, Johnson was sentenced to thirty days in jail for violating his probation.[110] Although a plea deal that called for no jail time was reached, Judge Kathleen McHugh rejected it after Johnson playfully slapped his male attorney on the buttocks in court. The judge said that Johnson was not taking things seriously enough, even after he apologized. In addition to the jail sentence, his probation was extended for three months through December, and he was required to perform 25 hours of community service and to undergo two counseling sessions per week. On June 17, Johnson was released from jail after apologizing to the court.[111]