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| No more Ochocinco. (US Presswire) |
Way back in August of 2008, I spoke with the Broward County Courthouse, who confirmed that Chad Johnson, then a superstar in the NFL, had officially changed his name to Chad Ochocinco. He's now reversed that change, as the man known as "Ochocinco" has changed his name back to Chad Johnson.
That was technically reported by the Ochocinco News Network (irony!) and NFL.com's Jeff Darlington also reports the change is now official.
"Chad Ochocinco has officially changed his name back to Chad Johnson," OCNN reported on Monday morning. "The main reason behind the name change was due to his marriage to Evelyn Lozada. The couple preferred Evelyn’s last name to be a real name and not the fun “Ochocinco” character we have come to love."
Darlington tweeted Monday that Ochocinco returned to the Broward County Courthouse for a hearing at 8:45 a.m. ET that finalized the change and cost Johnson $401. Johnson had started the change, per Darlington, "a few days after his wedding" and wrapped things up today.
The name change for Chad is pretty fascinating: going to Ochocinco did some pretty unbelievable things for the wideout in terms of marketing potential. He's got more than three million Twitter followers, he's got a famous iPhone/iPad game, he's had multiple television shows and is generally one of the most famous football players in the world.
Statistically, though, it hasn't been quite as good. Since changing his name, Ocho's averaged 10 games started (14 games played) per year, with 674 receiving yards, 52 receptions and four touchdowns a year for four years. Prior to that, Chad Johnson averaged 14 games started (15 total games), 1,195 receiving yards, 80 catches and seven touchdowns per year over seven years.
The Dolphins, who signed Johnson this offseason, would love nothing more than the reversion to his old name to have the same effect on his on-field game as well.
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