Jersey numbers are special for most athletes, with many believing that they won't be the same player or won't be as recognizable if they're forced to wear different digits on their front and back of their torso.
Every year players in the NFL switch teams, whether moving from team to team or from college programs to the pros, and with that comes the potential for changing jersey numbers if their desired number is someone else already dons the number.
If a player is interested enough in keeping wearing their old number on a new team, they may ask the player to switch or come to some sort of financial agreement for the number.
That appears to be the case in the AFC West, as Las Vegas Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty is apparently taking No. 2 from kicker Daniel Carlson.
“I called him and I’m like, ‘I’m trying to get that No. 2. I’m willing to negotiate whatever you’re thinking,'” Jeanty told Kay Adams on the "Up and Adams" show. “I gave him what I was thinking first, then he came back and I’m like, ‘I got to do it. I got to drop that little bag for No. 2.”
Jeanty, 21, was Las Vegas' first-round pick (No. 6 overall) in this year's draft. He's entering the league after an incredible career at Boise State that him rush for 4,769 yards and 50 touchdowns on 6.4 yards per attempt and catch 80 passes for 862 yards and six additional scores.
The running back also earned All-Mountain West and All-American honors twice. He won Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year each of the last two seasons and was named the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy in 2024.
With that level of success at his collegiate program, it's no surprise that Jeanty wants to keep things the way they are. And, considering his new offensive coordinator, Chip Kelly, is already making change some aspects of his game, keeping the number may mean even more to him.
It's unclear exactly what Jeanty is giving Carlson for the number, but considering the rookie's four-year deal is for $35.9 million fully guaranteed and the kicker has made just $17.43 million since entering the league in 2018, it could be a hefty sum.
Jeanty did mention that he could by a Mercedez GLE, which is about $100,000.
