Chad Javon Johnson, also known as Chad Ochocinco, is a former American football player whose career as a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) spanned 11 seasons. Known for his flamboyant attitude and impressive skills, Johnson left a significant mark on the sport.
Recently, Chad Johnson visited Lexington, Kentucky, where he connected with fans and showed his support for the University of Kentucky. This visit included dining in Cincinnati and attending a college football game.
Early Life and College Career
Johnson was born in Miami, Florida, and graduated from Miami Beach Senior High School. He briefly attended Langston University before transferring to Santa Monica College in 1997. In 2000, Johnson transferred to Oregon State University, where he played alongside future Bengals teammate T. J. Houshmandzadeh.
NFL Career
Selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the second round of the 2001 NFL draft, Johnson played for them for 10 seasons. He earned six Pro Bowl selections and was named to the All-Pro team twice. His professional statistics include 766 receptions, 11,059 yards, and 67 touchdowns over an 11-season career. In 2012, Johnson played for the Miami Dolphins during preseason but was released following an arrest for domestic violence.
Key NFL Stats
Here is a snapshot of Chad Johnson's NFL receiving statistics compared to some of the top wide receivers in NFL history:
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The football game concluded with a narrow victory for the Texas Longhorns, who defeated the Kentucky Wildcats 16-13.
Cincinnati Bengals Years
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.
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 caught two touchdown passes, while amassing 483 yards.
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??"
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.
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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.
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."
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 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.
New England Patriots
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. Johnson had statistically the least productive season of his career, catching 15 passes for 276 yards and one touchdown, all career lows. 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.
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Later Career
Johnson signed a two-year deal with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League on April 17, 2014. During the 2014 CFL season, Johnson appeared in only five regular season games, mostly due to nagging injuries.
In total, he accumulated seven receptions for 151 yards, and scored one touchdown. Johnson was suspended by the Alouettes after he failed to report for mandatory training camp in the spring of 2015.
In March 2016, Johnson tweeted to the Cleveland Browns head coach, who was also his former wide receivers coach with the Bengals, Hue Jackson, to ask if he would let Johnson work with the receivers during training camp.
He is currently a panelist on the weekly highlight show Inside the NFL, a role he has held since the show moved to The CW in 2023. He also co-hosts the podcast Nightcap alongside Shannon Sharpe.
"I could catch that on the toilet!" Best of Chad 'Ochocinco' Johnson Mic'd Up
Other Ventures
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.
In 2018, Johnson returned to soccer, signing for then-National Premier Soccer League side Boca Raton FC in October after a period of training. 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.
On May 24, 2019, Johnson scored both goals in a 2-1 regular season win over the Palm Beach Breakers. Boca Raton FC would go on to win the South Florida Championship of the UPSL.
He appears on the cover of EA's 2006 video game NFL Street 3.
On May 3, 2021, Johnson was added to the undercard for the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Logan Paul fight card in a fight against Brian Maxwell. The fight completed the four two-minute rounds for which it was scheduled.
From July 7, 2025 - July 9, 2025 Johnson hosted the first annual Wideout Workshop event where receivers would work with Johnson on their craft to become better players.
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. 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.
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.
In 2010, Johnson was featured on his own reality television dating show called Ochocinco: The Ultimate Catch on VH1.
Personal Life
Ochocinco is widely known for his frugality and focus on financial responsibility. For the first two years of Johnson's tenure with the Bengals, he lived at the Bengals' stadium Paycor Stadium, utilizing the variety of on-site amenities the team provided.
In May 2007, Johnson was sued for allegedly not giving away a Lexus that was supposed to be raffled off.
Johnson has interests in sports outside of football. In June 2007, he footraced against a Thoroughbred racehorse over a furlong (220 yards / 200 meters) for charity; Johnson, given a 110-yard (100 m) head start, beat the horse by twelve lengths. He is a Napoli supporter.
Johnson is an avid player of the FIFA video game series, frequently referring to himself as "FIFA king".
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").
Legally changed his name to Chad Javon Ochocinco on August 29, 2008. The Cincinnati Bengals decided to allow him to have it on the back of his jersey, though Ochocinco continued to wear his old "C. Johnson" jersey during the 2008 football season because of contractual obligations with Reebok.
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.
Johnson and Lozada married on July 4, 2012. On August 11, 2012, Johnson was arrested on a charge of domestic battery according to the Davie, Florida police.
On June 10, 2013, Johnson was sentenced to thirty days in jail for violating his probation. 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.
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