KANSAS CITY – The Kansas City Chiefs have announced plans to bring back Bo Jackson, one of the most iconic football players of the late 1980s. 

Jackson, 63, who last played in the National Football League in 1990, has recently undergone a large number of transformational surgeries in which doctors replaced his aging limbs and muscles with cybernetic elements. A hip injury in 1991 ended his football career, and he limped through another few baseball seasons before retiring in 1994. But post-surgery, he appeared to onlookers to be as healthy as when in his prime. 

He invited representatives of several NFL teams to his palatial Burr Ridge, Ill., home and put himself through a dizzying array of workouts. One scout said that Jackson showed more promise than some of the more recent Heisman Trophy winners he’d seen. Comparisons to films like The Terminator were inevitable, as a handful of news outlets ran stories with headlines like “Bo to terminate NFL defenses all over again.”

Jackson, a former Heisman winner himself, starred for four years on the gridiron at Auburn University. He then played a total of 38 games in the NFL, all for the Los Angeles Raiders, rushing for a total of 2,782 yards and scoring 16 touchdowns; he also had 352 yards receiving and scored two TDs that way.

The multi-talented Jackson was also a star in Major League Baseball, playing most of his career with the Kansas City Royals but also starring for the Chicago White Sox and the California Angels. He was known for his long home runs, including one in the 1989 All-Star Game; his prodigious speed; and for his athletic catches in the outfield. 

A larger-than-life personality, Jackson joined the zeitgeist in the 1990s with a serious of TV and print ads that made the phrase “Bo Knows” a household utterance and gave him visibility long after his sporting career was over. 

Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said that his team needed a boost after their flat loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2025 Super Bowl. Reid said he would welcome the opportunity to start Jackson at either running back or wide receiver. Royals manager Matt Quatraro also expressed interest in Jackson’s returning to the KC lineup.

Already seen at media outlets across the country is Jackson’s new ad campaign. Its slogan: “I’ll be back.”