Pistorius set to rake in millions post being cleared of murdering Steenkamp

Paralympic runner Oscar Pistorius is reportedly set to scrape up millions from book and TV deals after he was sensationally cleared on Thursday of murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

The Blade Runner vomited and sobbed, with tears streaming down his cheeks, as he was found not guilty of both murder and premeditated murder, as Judge Thokozile Masipa ruled prosecutors failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that he deliberately killed Steenkamp.

Pistorius now faces a 24-hour wait to discover if he is guilty of manslaughter, The Daily Star reported.

The charge, called culpable homicide in South Africa, carries up to 15 years' jail, while the firearms and ammunition possession charges he faces carry five years. However, the judge could also rule that Pistorius can go free.

Experts are predicting that the Blade Runner would make a fortune, whatever the outcome. Nigel Currie, from sports marketing agency brandrapport UK, said that Pistorius would be offered millions for his story.

He said that there would be a frenzy of interest in Pistorius, just like there was surrounding bed-hopping golfer Tiger Woods and drug cheat cyclist Lance Armstrong.

Currie said that Pistorius could make money out of books, adding that from a marketing point of view, people recover from scandals. He said that they could see Woods recovered, even someone like Armstrong would still find ways of making money from what he's gone through.

Currie said that if Pistorius does get a prison sentence or he is found guilty in some sort of way, that really is a situation that's pretty hard to bounce back from. But, he added that books are very, very lucrative and that would possibly be his only route, and the chat shows route to promote the books.

Currie also said that it could be a multi-million pound deal and Pistorius would be such a big name.

But Currie also warned the Blade Runner's hopes of returning to the Olympics or Paralympics were hanging by a thread. He said that any length of sentence might not leave him long with his athletic career.

Currie said that if Pistorius gets a prison sentence, it's not the best kind of thing sponsors would look for.

Pistorius insists that he shot Steenkamp dead at his Pretoria home on Valentine's Day last year by mistake, believing she was a burglar.

Judge Masipa left the hearing on a knife-edge, saying that the sprinter had been negligent when he fired through a locked toilet door, before quickly adjourning the case, the report added.