Since 2004, wide receivers are also allowed to wear numbers between 10 and 19 if they so choose, even if there is an 80-89 number available. Numbers 1 to 19 are worn by quarterbacks, kickers, and punters.His request was declined, and he was assigned number 25 by the team.īelow is the numbering system established by the NFL, and in place since 1973: In 2006, for example, New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush requested to keep the number 5 he wore in college. Players have often asked the NFL for an exception to the numbering rule. Some uniforms also feature numbers either on the front, back, or sides of the helmet (in pro football, these were most prominently worn on the San Diego Chargers "powder-blue" uniforms). Since 2008, TV numbers have not been mandatory under NFL rules. Players' last names, however, are required on all uniforms, even throwbacks which predate the last name rule. In 2007, the Cleveland Browns, Philadelphia Eagles, and Pittsburgh Steelers wore throwback jerseys without TV numbers.
The Cincinnati Bengals were the last NFL team to wear jerseys without TV numbers on a regular basis in 1980, though since then several NFL teams have worn throwback uniforms without them, as their jersey designs predated the introduction of TV numbers. Numbers are always worn on the front and back of a player's jersey, and so-called "TV numbers" are worn on the sleeve or shoulder. A system of assignment of jersey numbers was initiated in American football's NFL in 1952 it was updated and made more rigid in 1973, and has been modified slightly since then.