The NFL is decided to reintroduce the number 0 jersey, as proposed by the Philadelphia Eagles. The owners voted in favor of the proposal, and the committee has agreed to make the change on Tuesday.
The chairman of the NFL competition committee, Rich McCay, later released a statement regarding the change. “I don’t think there was any discussion, and we voted. As someone who works for a team, we have real challenges in the number world right now,” he said.
According to the rule, now the punters and placekickers are allowed to wear between 0-49 and 90-99 number jerseys. Any player except offensive and defensive linemen can wear the number 0 from now on.
Here’s the full proposal that owners approved, allowing any player to wear Number Zero except offensive and defensive linemen.
Also, punters and placekickers can now wear numbers 0-49 and 90-99. CC: @PatMcAfeeShow pic.twitter.com/7cqNoUBN1G
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 28, 2023
Rich also added, “This is one thing that could help us in that challenge because we do have some players that tend to like the single digit. Numbers are more problematic than they’ve ever been, so this one had very little pushback.”
As the news circulated, the Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver, Calvin Ridley, announced on Twitter that he would wear the number 0 for the franchise.
Excited to be the first @Jaguars player to wear zero – shout out to @JagsEquip! #ReadyToWork pic.twitter.com/MfympKGWSl
— CALVIN RIDLEY (@CalvinRidley1) March 28, 2023
Why can’t NFL players wear the number 0?
The numbers 0 and 00 were used to wear back in the 1960s when the Las Vegas Raiders center wore the number 00 for over a decade. The New England Patriots’ outside linebacker wore the number 0 for the last time before the NFL banned the number.
The reason for avoiding the number is that it does not indicate any valid position for the players according to the league’s numbering rule. The number on the jersey is assigned by the position a player is playing. For example, testers are allowed to pick any number between 10 and 19.
Furthermore, the number makes it easier to identify players and their positions in a game. The officials can also control the game by recognizing any action from a defensive or offensive player that can be called.
Financially, it was more complicated, as if any player changed their jersey number, they had to buy all the existing merchandise on the market at retail price. That’s why prolific players can’t change jersey numbers anymore.
