has the nfl ever retired a number

As an avid NFL fan and occasional collector cheap nfl jerseys from china of memorabilia, I’ve heard the question: “Has the NFL ever retired a number?” more times than I can count. To be honest, I’ve never known the answer, but now that I’ve done some research, I can say yes. In fact, cheap jerseys from china the NFL has retired the number of several former, legendary players.

It all started in 1963, when the NFL officially retired Jim Brown’s #32 in honor of his exceptional career as a Cleveland Brown’s running back. Brown is widely considered the greatest running back of all time, and he still holds multiple NFL records, despite having retired in 1965. As a result, it was only fair that he was the first wholesale nfl jerseys player to have his number retired.

It wasn’t until 2010, cheap jerseys however, that the NFL really started to retire numbers in earnest. In that year, NFL Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith had his beloved #22 retired by the Dallas Cowboys. Smith was the all-time leading rusher until LaDainian Tomlinson passed him in 2009. To honor him, the Cowboys decided to retire Smith’s jersey, cheap nfl jerseys starting a wave of retired numbers in the league.

The NFL most recently retired the number of iconic Washington Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann who, unfortunately, had his career ended due to a leg injury. Theismann, cheap nfl jerseys who wore the number 7, was known for his incredible passing ability and his leadership of the Redskins to a SuperBowl XVII championship in 1983.

In addition to Brown, Smith, wholesale jerseys and Theismann, the NFL has also retired the numbers of legendary quarterbacks such as Brett Favre (#4), John Elway (#7), and Terry Bradshaw (#12), running backs such as Walter Payton (#34) and wholesale jerseys Gale Sayers (#40), and wholesale jerseys defensive players such as Lawrence Taylor (#56). The NFL has also retired the number of football legend Reggie White (#92). White, who passed away in 2004, is widely considered one of the greatest defensive linemen of all time and, appropriately, cheap jerseys from china was just inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 2020.

The NFL has even retired the number of one of the most contentious and cheap nfl jerseys from china polarizing players in recent memory. In 2020, the NFL officially retired Colin Kaepernick’s #7 jersey in recognition of his incredible contributions to the league and his work off the field to bring about social justice. Kaepernick, cheap nfl jerseys who hasn’t played in the NFL since 2016, is most famous for his iconic kneeling protests during the national anthem, which drew a lot of criticism from some, wholesale nfl jerseys but ultimately sparked a major shift in the conversation about race in the United States.

Clearly, the NFL has a history of retiring special numbers in honor of several of its all-time greats. One could even argue that this tradition should continue into the 21st century, with the jerseys of other great players, like Aaron Rodgers, being retired in the near future. Regardless, the fact remains that the League has done a great job of recognizing some of its most legendary players over the years. As an NFL fan, I feel proud to have watched so many of these individuals play the game.