SmashMouth

Former Heisman winner and two-sport star Bo Jackson raised some eyebrows when he said if he had to do it over again, he wouldn’t play football.

But it was his first decision to not play football which showed his resolve as a man.

In a story by Bob Nightengale of USA Today, Jackson discussed his decision to boycott the Buccaneers, after they used the first pick in the 1986 NFL Draft on him. He was upset because he thought they tried to trick him into giving up baseball, by flying him to Tampa for a physical and allegedly reporting it as an NCAA infraction, for which he was deemed ineligible for his senior season at Auburn.

So he warned the then-Buccaneers owner (the late Hugh Culverhouse) up front he was never going to Tampa, and to not waste a pick on him.

“Their people said they were looking out for me, and checked with the NCAA that it was OK for me to go on their plane for that physical,’’ Jackson said, “but nobody checked it out. Well, I put two and two together, and figured it out. They knew I was a first-round pick in football, but they wanted to get me away from baseball, so they got me ruled ineligible. I’m 100 percent convinced of that. They thought that would make me forget baseball.

“I told myself, ‘All right, if you screw me, I’m going to screw you twice as hard.’ If anybody else had drafted me, I would have gone, but I wasn’t going to play for that man.

Bo Jackson

Beastmode

Didn't Payton Manning do same thing? Refuse to play for a certain team.

K Major

Bo Jackson is probably the greatest athlete I've ever seen in my life.

He was tearing the hide off of those baseballs at Auburn well before the Bucs came calling.

ctsaint01

Actually, it was Eli on account of Archie that Eli refused to play for the Chargers.

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Beastmode

Yeah, thanks. High profile draftees have some leverage for sure. Those are the only two I am aware of though. Sure there are more that refuse to play for certain teams. Career wise, probably better to sit out a year instead of being drafted by say the Browns or Redskins. Odds of winning are slim to none and that's how one gets endorsements and larger than life contracts down the road, larger media footprint...sit out a year and choose the team that gives you the best projection. But the allure of fat stacks upfront is hard to turn down.

ctsaint01

Yup, John Elway did it too & it turned out well for him. Watson should refuse too & demand to go only to NOLA!😁



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jeanpierre

Saints Bruce Clark did it...

Green Bay and GM Bart Starr spent the No. 4 Draft Pick on Bruce Clark who refused to change positions...

Clark played for the Toronto Argonauts instead and eventually signed with the Saints...

We do pretty good with Canadiens down here in Louisiana...

Utah_Saint

I had season tickets to the Raiders back when they were in LA.

Most games he looked like a man playing among boys.