Bill Cosby Could Still Fetch Thousands in Public Appearances After Prison Release

Bill Cosby's surprising release from prison means he's free to live his life again, and -- according to one expert in the booking industry -- free to cash in on showing his face in public again.

TMZ spoke with a major player in the booking biz who tells us ... even though the market will be very limited for Cosby, he believes the disgraced comedian will eventually be able to bank $10-15k per public appearance -- and possibly up to $20k for speaking engagements.

Our booking source points to O.J. Simpson as a precedent, saying that despite what he was accused of and found liable for -- killing 2 people -- he still made cash for events afterward. Same will be true for Cosby, according to our source.

Of course, it's not likely to happen right away, but the feeling is there will be a certain demographic of people -- likely older fans who loved "The Cosby Show" -- who are either willing to forgive, or truly believed Cosby was innocent all along.

We're told these people, along with organizations sympathetic to the man once known as "America's Dad," might be willing to shell out dough to see and hear from him.

Not everyone's enthusiastic, though -- Darren Prince of Prince Marketing Group tells us there's no way he'd book someone like Cosby, for any reason. He tells us the guy is just off-limits ... he needs to take some serious steps toward retribution and rehabbing his image ... things he's refused to do, up to this point.

As we reported ... Cosby was released from prison Wednesday after Pennsylvania's high court overturned his sexual assault conviction.