There’s a lot of significance in a jersey number. Athletes cling onto a “lucky number” from their youth; everyone has a story for the numerals they dawn on their uniform. In professional sports, the value of a jersey number is proved by jersey sales and the instant recognition of a particular number on a particular team’s jersey.
When a well-established NFL player changes their jersey number, it changes a player’s on-field aesthetic and leads to a surge in jersey sales — both things that will happen if the Kansas City Chiefs’ proposed rule on jersey numbers passes next month.