With Tom Brady now officially retired, it’s a virtual certainty that the Patriots will retire his No. 12. Zero players have worn it since Brady left New England three years ago.
But what about the NFL as a whole retiring Brady’s number? Tennessee Titans offensive tackle Taylor Lewan made that exact pitch after the 45-year-old quarterback announced his retirement.
“We should retire the number 12 for every team in the NFL,” Lewan tweeted Wednesday afternoon.
That feels aggressive.
Only three players have had their numbers retired by one of the four major North American professional sports leagues: Bill Russell (NBA), Jackie Robinson (MLB) and Wayne Gretzky (NHL). The NFL has yet to bestow such an honor.
Of course, Russell and Robinson saw their numbers retired for reasons beyond just their in-game brilliance. Gretzky was given the honor after compiling a career that both changed hockey forever and still stands as the greatest statistical resume in the history of the sport. Brady, to be fair, could make similar claims.
Nevertheless, it’s hard to envision the NFL retiring anyone’s number league-wide. With 53 players on active rosters (plus 16 on practice squads) and only 100 numbers to choose from, the NFL really can’t start taking numbers off the table.
So, while Lewan’s idea came from a good place, it probably is unrealistic.
