The Ohio State Buckeyes and star running back have agreed to a deal to keep him in Columbus.
After a crazy week of unhinged rumors, the Ohio State Buckeyes are expected to retain running back Bo Jackson for his second year in college.
Jackson was instrumental in Ohio State's run to the playoffs this year. The Buckeyes' running back room was in turmoil after the first month of the season. The two veteran players, CJ Donaldson and James Peoples, just weren't getting the job done against Texas, Grambling State, and Ohio.
Jackson saw a weekly increased with his role until he became the lead back when the team went out to Washington to take on the Huskies. He finished the year as the lead back in just 11 games and accounted for 1,090 yards on 179 carries and six touchdowns. He was averaging an amazing 6.08 yards per carry.
Heading into the offseason, Ohio State felt good about its running back room with Jackson and Isaiah West for the foreseeable future. That was until the transfer portal reared its ugly head.
Jackson saw his production and, as he should, began his negotiations.
Allegedly, Jackson was asking for more money than what TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins got in their final year at Ohio State. The rumors were circulating around the number $1.5M, which is a massive number in a vacuum, but a discount compared to the other top running backs in the country.
The details of the agreement for next year have yet to be released, but it is likely that Ohio State and Jackson came to an agreement near that number.
Two things about this situation can be true at once: Bo Jackson is well within his rights to negotiate like this, and he should take advantage of the system, and the system is totally insane and broken.
One-year contracts like this are not a real thing in the real world and are certainly not a thing in the world that these players are trying to go to. Raises, incentives, renegotiations, and bonuses are all realistic and could actually present a decent solution to the state of College Football right now.
However, that is not the reality of what we are dealing with.
If a player wants more money or a new contract and their current school isn't going to give it to them, then one of the other 135 teams in Division 1 will do that.
We have officially lost the plot in College Football.
No one is benefiting from operating like this. The players are getting a quick dollar, which is nice but unsustainable, especially for a teenager, while they are being taught lessons in horrible business in a fairy tale environment.
No one feels bad for the universities, and nor should they, but they are totally at the mercy of a young man and his agent. They have no leverage to stand on, and it's nearly impossible for them to negotiate a fair deal because the player will leave the program.
It's a scary world out there for these young men and its going to get worse before it gets better.
The moral of the story, Bo Jackson is back in Columbus, for at least the next 12 months until he wants another contract.