It’s a Buccaneers Christmas: 12 Naughty Moments in Bucs History
By Josh Hill
10. Bo Jackson Says He Won’t Play For Bucs, They Draft Him Anyways
Bo Jackson was a specimen coming out of college and he was coveted by both the NFL and Major League Baseball. But while he’s known for running for the Raiders, he was almost in a Buccaneers uniform, but there was only one problem: he didn’t want the Bucs. The drama surrounded an incident in which the Buccaneers flew Jackson to Tampa in the Culverhouse plane. The Bucs weren’t even thinking about NCAA violations for benefits to a student athlete but that’s how the NCAA saw it.
Jackson saw it completely differently, as he thought the Buccaneers were trying to sabotage his college baseball career. Because of this, he told the Bucs they’d better not draft him or he’d go play baseball instead of football. The Bucs thought he was bluffing and drafted him No. 1 in 1986.
Turns out Bo wasn’t bluffing, as after the Bucs drafted him he bolted to baseball to play for the Royals. The Bucs lost out on a first round pick and are know synonymous with burning Jackson so badly he chose baseball over football.