When Bo Chose Baseball

Pearlman profiles college baseball player Bo Jackson. Jackson was an excellent collegiate ballplayer with all sorts of talents. But clearly his future was in the NFL. It had to be. He was the reigning Heisman Trophy winner and the best running back prospect to emerge from the collegiate ranks since Orenthal James Simpson departed Southern Cal in 1969. Even though the stingy Tampa Bay Buccaneers held the first pick in the upcoming NFL draft, there was no way the franchise would let a phenomenon like Jackson slip through its fingers. Plus, there were the financial logistics: Should Bo Jackson choose baseball, he'd be languishing in the minor leagues for--at bare minimum--a year and a half. His signing bonus would be in the $100,000-range. The NFL, by contrast, was a land of riches.