This article presents a low-complexity parametric algorithm for the estimation of the carrier frequency offset (CFO) in orthogonal frequency division multiplexing systems. The proposed algorithm is equivalent to the Unitary ESPRIT algorithm, originally devised for estimating the direction-of-arrival of a wave front, now applied to the CFO scenario. It is verified that the proposed algorithm reduces the overall computational complexity in around 40%, while sustaining the error-rate performance achieved by the standard ESPRIT algorithm.