With college football’s new NIL system in place, Reggie Bush’s infamous Heisman Trophy scandal — borne out of “improper gifts” for his family — looks sillier every day. In addition to having his award vacated, it also apparently cost the former USC Trojans star a chance at being the No. 1 pick in the 2006 NFL Draft.
In a recent episode of The Dan Patrick Show, Bush told a wild story about why the Houston Texans passed on him and let him fall to the New Orleans Saints at No. 2 overall in that fateful draft. According to Bush, former Texans general manager Charley Casserly told him that a private investigator hired to look into Bush’s background essentially slandered his character enough that it scared the team away.
Again, all of this was over a kid in his early 20s getting “gifts” that no one would blink over in the current college football landscape. For example, Caleb Williams reportedly made $2.7 million in NIL money last year, per On3.com. Yes, $2.7 million! That’s an average NBA player’s salary!
C’mon now.
.@ReggieBush shares the truth behind why he wasn't drafted 1st overall by the #Texans in the 2006 NFL Draft.
Full interview: https://t.co/RFiAvEYlv3 pic.twitter.com/NetG911PzK
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) January 16, 2024
Needless to say, while it worked out perfectly for him in New Orleans in the form of a Super Bowl 44 title, Bush losing out on a top draft pick status because of this madness is just thoughtless. Thank goodness cooler heads have prevailed to allow major college players to finally profit off all the work they put in for big programs.
