Matthew Mathias

Sports Editor

Mcm5909@psu.edu

Back in April of 2021, the NFL league owners approved a new policy for player uniforms. The new rule would now permit wide receivers, running backs and tight ends to wear new numbers. These included any number between one through forty-nine, as well as the standard set in the past of numbers eighty through eighty-nine. Also, the new policy would now allow defensive backs as well as linebackers to wear numbers one through forty-nine. They of course still could choose from their old available options, being fifty through fifty-nine or ninety through ninety-nine. Other positions throughout team rosters options remained unchanged.

Personally, I have no issues with this new rule. I think it is fun and it adds more personalization and character to the league and can even help to bolster jersey sales among teams that utilize the changes. Players now can make statements about themselves with their number selection and overall, just have more control over their image/brand in the NFL. This should help them in their own personal businesses and endeavors.

One major critic of the new rule is arguably the most famed and popular player in the league, that being Tampa Bay Buccaneers Quarterback Tom Brady. Before the first game of the 2021 season, Brady had a lot to say about the policy in an interview with the Tampa Bay Times saying, “The number rule is crazy, . . . Literally guys changed their numbers today. I’m playing two guys who had different numbers in the preseason. So, yeah you’ve got to watch film and know who you’re studying but so do running backs. They’ve got to know who to block. So does the offensive line. So do the receivers who are adjusting their routes based on blitzes.” 

Brady views the change as more complex than just a simple number change. He is a student of the game that watches countless film weeks before a matchup in order to best face his opponents. How else would the greatest of all time have 7 Super Bowl rings? Brady argues that going into a new season with number changes happening so late, it makes it extremely more difficult to scout opponents and pair players and their old numbers to their new numbers. 

Taking that into consideration, I would agree with him on his points as they are very valid and understandable from a professional competition perspective. However, once the initial changes are out of the way, I don’t see this being a problem for the NFL long-term. Players who want to change their number, if at all, will almost certainly stick with their new number for the duration of their career, players only typically have a number change when they are rostered on a different team, which has been standard in the league for decades. In fact, sometimes, their numbers do not even change when moving teams. At this point, I feel like there may be some challenges for players like Brady early on in the 2021 campaign, but in the end, I feel like the new number policy will be a great thing for the NFL as well as for any athlete that chooses to take advantage of it.