Reports Sohh:

According to the documents, Ross’ rap alias stems from sports and not notorious former drug lord Freeway Ricky Ross.

When questioned about how he decided to use “Rick Ross” as a professional name, the rapper unspooled a tale beginning when he was a football player at Miami Carol City Senior High School in the mid-1990s. Ross testified that he and his fellow offensive linemen called each other “Big East,” since they all wanted to attend the University of Miami, then a member of the Big East Conference. “That was my first nickname,” he said during the January 12 deposition. Ross then explained, “When I became All American, by the time I was in sophomore, I was the Big Boss. The Biggest Boss. That was a nickname.” (The Smoking Gun)

He also claimed the “Rick Ross” moniker indirectly sprouted from his “Big Boss” nickname.

At some point following his 1994 graduation, Ross testified, “a friend” mistook his nickname to be “Rick Ross,” not “Big Boss.” The deposition does not further identify this purported friend or the level of his hearing deficiencies. “And when he said, when he brought it up to me, it became my moniker. From Big East to the Big Boss, the Biggest Boss for my senior year, I was All American. When I finished high school and pursued music, it came into Rick Ross. So this is ’96.” (The Smoking Gun)