– Former MLB and NFL Star Bo Jackson in a Bucs creamsicle photo created by Samer Ali

Bo Jackson once sent Hugh Culverhouse a Polaroid of himself shooting him the bird via certified mail.

That is how badly he never wanted to play for the Bucs.

What if Jackson had actually played for Tampa Bay?

By now, nearly everyone knows the story of how Jackson refused to play for the team after then-owner Culverhouse flew him out to the team’s facility on a private jet, which cost him eligibility to play his final college baseball season at Auburn.

Rather than sign with the Bucs after they still drafted him the No. 1 overall pick in the 1986 NFL Draft, Jackson chose to head to the MLB when the Royals drafted him No. 105 in the 1986 MLB Draft. Known as one of the greatest athletes ever, he later returned to football with the Raiders. He played in the NFL and MLB from 1987 to 1990, before a career-ending hip injury ultimately shortened his playing days in both sports.

Jackson has remained a popular figure after retirement, with his legacy extending into pop culture. That includes sharing his life stories on podcasts, with his most recent appearance being on the Green Light with Chris Long show. Jackson and Long touched on a variety of topics, the most notable being his recollection of what transpired nearly 40 years ago.

For Bo Jackson, Screwing The Bucs Was Done Out Of Principle

By the mid-1980s, the Bucs were floundering.

With head coach John McKay retiring after the 1984 season, the team struggled to just a 2-14 record in the first season under head coach Leeman Bennett in 1985. It was a stretch of play similar to the franchise’s first seasons, with the city of Tampa  once again facing the dim reality of rooting for a perennial laughingstock.

There was hope of brighter days ahead, with the chance of landing Auburn superstar running back Bo Jackson in the 1986 NFL Draft. Jackson was not only considered the best running back prospect entering the league since O.J. Simpson in 1969, but he was a generational athlete. Coming off a 1,786-yard, 17-touchdown season in college, it looked like Tampa Bay would find James Wilder’s successor to carry them into the next decade.

Not so fast.

Former Bucs owner Hugh Culverhouse – Photo by: IMAGN Images – RVR Photos

After Hugh Culverhouse told Jackson a trip down to the Buccaneers facility had been cleared by the NCAA a month before the draft, it turned out to not be true. Culverhouse’s grave mistake not only affected Jackson’s ability to finish out his collegiate baseball career, but it led to him never playing for the Bucs. He preferred to stick it to Culverhouse and the organization after they tried derailing him from being a two-sport athlete.

“A man’s integrity is worth everything,” Jackson told Chris Long last week reflecting on what happened back then. “And if you can’t have that, then I don’t want to associate with you, period… They lied to me. How can I play for you when the first thing you did was lie to me? You screwed me over. You lied, and you sabotaged what I believe in.”

“Then I just told [Hugh], ‘Look, you screwed me out of my senior year in baseball. I’m going to screw you out of your first-round draft pick.’ They said, ‘Well, you can’t turn on this because we’re going to offer you one of the biggest contracts.’ [It] was over a $7 million dollar contract. ‘You aren’t going to do that just to play for a million dollars.’ I said, ‘Draft me and find out.'”

Jackson took the move personally, remaining true to his word that he would never play with the team – even if they drafted him first overall.

Former MLB and NFL star Bo Jackson – Photo by: IMAGN Images- Matt Marton

“I think they did that on purpose because that year word was out that the three or four top players that was going to be picked in the baseball draft were Will Clark, Rafael Palmeiro, Bo Jackson, and somebody else. They knew that. So, they said, ‘We need to make him ineligible, so we know he’ll play football.’

It got to the point that Jackson shared an amusing story with Long.

“I even sent Hugh Culverhouse a picture of me shooting him the bird. I had my roommate take it – with the Polaroid camera. I sent it certified mail to where he had to sign for it and he got it. I’m not lying, I’m serious. To let him know that I’m not playing for you.”

Bo Jackson: “By The Bucs Lying To Me, They Screwed Up Royally”

Hugh Culverhouse’s decision making when it came to how he handled the Bo Jackson situation remains one of the biggest blunders in NFL history. The Bucs fumbled any chance of landing a generational talent, which stings even more knowing that the team also had a 25-year-old quarterback named Steve Young.

Jackson went on to become an All-Star in the MLB and a Pro Bowler in the NFL, while Young went on to win Super Bowls with the 49ers during a Hall of Fame career. Had they teamed up, perhaps Tampa Bay would have developed into a powerhouse that could have competed for the Lombardi Trophy.

In an alternate timeline, Jackson never gets injured and becomes an all-time great at running back. Young never gets traded to the 49ers and develops into an elite passer with the Bucs. The draft picks devoted into finding a franchise quarterback instead go toward building a contending core around them.

One decision could have rewritten franchise history.

Former Raiders RB Bo Jackson – Photo by: IMAGN Images – Peter Brouillet

Instead, what happened next was another 2-14 season in 1986 that led to Leeman Bennett getting fired. It would not be until 1997 that the Bucs would even put together a winning season. While Jackson originally turned down the chance at a five-year, $7.6 million contract with the team for a three-year, $1.07 million contract with the Kansas City Royals, he has no regrets about his choices.

“For me, it wasn’t about the money because I knew I could make the money with anybody, but I’m not going to play for you,” Jackson said. “If you are disrespecting me, and I’m not even employed for you, you are disrespecting everyone else. I said, ‘I can’t go down that aisle. I can’t go down that road with you.'”

While everyone will forever wonder what could have been, the reality is that the Bucs struck out big time. It set the franchise back in a way that echoed for the rest of Culverhouse’s time owning the team before the Glazers took over in 1995.

“Bo Knows” just how much it hurt Tampa Bay.

“By them lying to me, they screwed up royally,” Jackson said.