No 'bust' list could be complete without mentioning Brian "the Boz" Bosworth.
Though I'm torn on it, Brian Bosworth gets a spot on this list purely because he failed to live up to the hype he created for himself coming into the NFL. The Boz was a good linebacker in the 3 years he spent in the NFL - but nowhere near what he had projected himself to be when he was drafted.
For starters, before even being drafted, he sent letters to several NFL teams stating that if they drafted him he wouldn't show up for camp and would not play for them. After he was chosen by the Hawks as the 22nd overall pick in the supplemental draft, he signed the biggest contract in Seahawks history, 10 years for $11 Million - a lot to live up to for a guy that had yet to play a down in the NFL. He then tried to sue the NFL for the right to wear #44 - but lost, and he was forced to adhere to the league-wide numbering rules and wore #55.
After this, he showed up to Seahawks practice in a helicopter. As a rookie. I'm sure the veterans just loved this.
All this happened before he had played in a game.
Now, once he began playing, he played well - for only a short while. But the Boz persona he had created for himself, the contract he had signed, and idea that he would be the next Dick Butkus and redefine the linebacker position proved to be his undoing. He suffered shoulder injuries that ended up forcing him to retire. Some people say he hid the problem from the Hawks before being drafted but we may never know that for a fact so it's immaterial.
The point is - he overhyped himself so badly that even though he was a good linebacker for the short while he was in the league, he ultimately failed in the eyes of most fans because they expected him to live up to his billing as the next great NFL linebacking superstar.
The rivalry between him and Bo Jackson was a good thing for the NFL and I don't think getting trucked into the endzone one time by arguably the greatest athlete of all time should factor into the decision to label the Boz a bust. I just want to point out this this had no bearing on my decision to include him on this list. I simply believe he was a bust because he purposely and tactfully - yet ostentatiously in most ways - led us to believe he'd be the greatest linebacker of all time and fell way short in his bid to do so. He also did some things - the contract stuff, the suing the NFL to wear a number, the helicopter to practice - that you hate to see from any player, especially rookies, and this did not help his cause.
How do you feel about this, Hawks fans? Does Boz deserve a spot on this list?
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