Former Miami Hurricanes Oklahoma Sooners LB Brian Bosworth, routinely cited as one of the biggest NFL draft busts of all-time for his underachievement as a member of the Seattle Seahawks (including, but not limited to being steamrolled by Bo Jackson during a 1987 Monday Night Football telecast), had little interest in discussing the past or present with the Seattle Times’ intrepid Danny O’Neil. However, that didn’t stop O’Neil from recalling a period in which Bosworth’s self-absorption provided inspiration for a new generation of narcissists and egomaniacs.

Controversy sells. Bosworth knew that instinctively. In his autobiography, he mocked the length of Joe Paterno’s pants and the thickness of his glasses. He jeeringly called Barry Switzer “The King.” He made fun of the size of John Elway’s teeth.

The Boz made sure everyone had an opinion about him, and those opinions were as unambiguous as a pregnancy test. Either positive or negative. And then he made money off both sides.

They sold shirts in Denver, “Boz Busters.” They featured his picture with a circle and a line through it. Check the tag, though: 44 Blues.

One day Seahawks teammate Bryan Millard walked through the locker room wearing an anti-Boz shirt and asked Bosworth how he liked the duds.

When Millard walked away, Bosworth turned to Wyman and said, “He just paid for the seat covers on my Corvette.”

Switzer was the coach of the Dallas Cowboys when the team signed a cornerback named Deion Sanders. He called himself “Prime Time,” and traced his nickname back to The Boz.

“When I saw a white linebacker at Oklahoma getting all that attention, that’s when ‘Prime Time’ was born,” Sanders said, according to Switzer.