Bo Jackson: Jackson, a two-sport star in the American leagues of baseball and football. Some consider Bo Jackson the greatest athlete in history. For better or worse, he was the best athlete of his generation and an iconic brand ambassador. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, Bo and Michael Jordan led Nike to unprecedented heights of success.
Bo Jackson Career Earnings and Contracts
Bo earned $6.8 million in baseball compensation and $6.1 million in football salary during his professional career. When inflation is taken into account, that amounts to about $20 million. The endorsement deals with Nike and Gatorade brought in tens of millions of dollars for Bo. Nike promised Bo $110,000 a year in 1986 if he would only play baseball. If he played in the NFL, they would pay him $1 million.
After retiring from professional football, Bo had a lucrative contract with the Los Angeles Raiders, a one-year $2.4 million deal with the Kansas City Royals, and a combined $7.4 million salary from Pepsi, AT&T, and Nike. A year’s salary plus endorsements for Bo in the early 1990s amounted to $6 million. When inflation is taken into account, that’s the same as $11 million dollars now.
Bo Jackson Nike Deal
Nike had a particular relationship with Bo, and it was well known. The now-famous “Bo Knows” commercial series is widely regarded as one of the most influential marketing initiatives in advertising history. From cross-trainer shoe sales, Nike generated roughly $40 million annually in the early 1990s. A year after the campaign’s introduction, Nike had taken over 80 percent of the worldwide cross trainer market and was producing $400 million in revenue annually, according to Ad Age.
For his efforts as an endorser, Nike couldn’t have been more thankful. Thanks to the company, I’m grateful for two things it done to honour Bo:
Each building on Nike’s Beaverton, Oregon, headquarters site honours a legendary athlete who had a significant influence on the company’s history. Buildings dedicated to Michael Jordan and Serena Williams as well as Bo Jackson are located on campus’s main thoroughfares. The 60,000-square-foot Bo Jackson Sports and Wellness Center has an elite training facility, a basketball court, a two-lane indoor track, childcare facilities, and much more.
In fact, Nike never ceased paying Bo. While Bo hasn’t played professional sports in decades, Nike still pays him at least $1 million a year for his endorsements of their products. When it comes to his salary, Bo’s is basically simply an annual thank you card.
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Bo Jackson Early Life
Bo Jackson was born on November 30, 1962, in Bessemer, Alabama. When he was born, there were only eight children in his family. He went to McAdory High School in McAdory, Texas. On the football and baseball teams in high school, he set records as a running back and smashed 20 home runs in 25 games. He also set state records on the track and twice won the Alabama state decathlon championship.
When the New York Yankees offered him a baseball scholarship in 1982, Jackson turned it down to attend Auburn University on a football scholarship. I promised my mom I’d be the first in my family to go to college, and here I am. During his time at Auburn, Jackson was also a member of the baseball and track & field teams. He is well-known for his uncommon ability to excel in multiple sports, as evidenced by his remarkable stats across the board.
Bo Jackson Baseball Career
Prior to his graduation from college, Jackson had been expected to play professional football. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected him with the first overall choice in the 1986 NFL Draft. A previous visit to the Buccaneers’ team facilities resulted in him being banned from playing for the team for the rest of his senior year of college baseball.
Buccaneers officials said the visit was okayed, but it wasn’t, therefore he couldn’t play collegiate sports anymore. When the Buccaneers were denied NCAA approval, he feels that they did it to force him into a career in football rather than baseball. So, he rejected the offer to sign with them and instead decided to play for the Kansas City Royals, who had picked him in the 1986 amateur selection, as his preferred team.
The Royals paid Jackson $1.07 million over three years to play for their Class AA affiliate, the Memphis Chicks, where he appeared in 53 games. In September 1986, he was called up to the majors and joined the roster of the Kansas City Royals in 1987. Following his release from the Kansas City Royals in 1991 because of an injury, the Chicago White Sox offered him a three-year contract with a guaranteed $700,000 each season and a performance-based upside of $8.15 million.
Jackson played two seasons for the White Sox, in 1991 and 1993; he was on the disabled list for the 1992 season because he underwent hip replacement surgery. In 1994, at the age of 32, he ended his professional baseball career with the California Angels.
Bo Jackson Football Career
the 183rd choice overall by the Los Angeles Raiders in the 1987 NFL Draft, the Raiders picked Jackson. Al Davis, the owner of the Oakland Raiders, was amenable to the concept of Jackson playing both baseball and football at the same time, which sparked Jackson’s interest in the NFL. Because of his five-year $7.4 million deal with the Raiders, he was able to play out the rest of each MLB season before reporting to the team, even if he missed several NFL games.
Jackson was also given the biggest non-quarterback salary in NFL history, plus a rumoured $500,000 signing bonus, by Davis when he joined the team. A 5.4-yard average per carry over the course of Jackson’s NFL career saw him rush for 2,782 yards and 16 touchdowns. As for his receiving statistics, he hauled in 40 receptions for 352 yards and 2 touchdowns. He suffered a dislocated hip in a tackle during his final professional football game in January 1991. As a result, he developed avascular necrosis in his left hip joint and required hip replacement surgery.
The injury that resulted in him being released by the Royals was this one, and he would continue to battle it until his retirement in 1994.
Bo Jackson Other Work
Tecmo Bowl, Bo Jackson’s Hit and Run for the original Game Boy, Bo Jackson Baseball for the NES and IBM-compatible computers, ESPN NFL Football, NFL Street 2, Madden 15 and Madden 16 have all featured Jackson. As well as appearing in print, he has also appeared on television. The character of Calvin Farquhar appeared on the NBC Saturday morning cartoon “ProStars,” he appeared in an episode of “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman,” a 1995 episode of “Diagnosis Murder,” and he appeared as a guest on “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” in 1990.
Business Ventures
Investors in the Burr Ridge Bank and Trust in Burr Ridge, Illinois (a suburb of Chicago), have included Jackson. A multi-sport facility near Lockport, Ill., called the Bo Jackson Elite Sports Complex is also owned and operated by him. In 2007, he and his business partner, John Cangelosi, opened the facility. N’Genuity, a food company, is another one of his investments.
Excited about the capabilities of our newly opened Jackson Packaging Plant in Bessemer, Alabama. Visit https://t.co/ud0LbWeYNy to learn more about what we can do! pic.twitter.com/MztfrIf8hH
— Bo Jackson (@BoJackson) April 26, 2022
Personal Life
A rehabilitation counsellor is Linda Jackson’s profession of choice. Morgan, Garrett, and Nicholas are the three children of the marriage. Retiring as an athlete and vowing never to give up on college education, the former Auburn University football player completed his Bachelor of Science degree in Family and Children Development at his alma mater.
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