List of National Football League retired numbers

Teams in the National Football League (NFL) retire jersey numbers of players who either are considered by the team to have made significant contributions to that team's success, or who have experienced untimely deaths during their playing career. As with other leagues, once a team retires a player's jersey number, it never issues the number to any other player, unless the player or team explicitly allows it.

History

Since NFL teams began retiring numbers, 139 players have had their jersey number retired. The Chicago Bears and the New York Giants have the most retired numbers of the teams with 14 each. Only two players, Reggie White and Peyton Manning, have had their number retired by two teams. Three teams –the Las Vegas Raiders, the Atlanta Falcons,[1] and the Dallas Cowboys– traditionally do not retire jersey numbers, and two others –the Washington Football Team and the Pittsburgh Steelers– have only retired a few. Also without a retired jersey number are the Baltimore Ravens, the Houston Texans, and the Jacksonville Jaguars, although those teams are less than 30 years old. The Raiders have a strict policy of not keeping a number out of circulation; the Texans, who not only are the newest member of the league but one that did not make its first playoff appearance until 2011, have not yet built up a history long enough to warrant retiring a number. The Buffalo Bills under Ralph Wilson also did not, with the exception of Jim Kelly, officially retire jersey numbers; this policy was reversed under Wilson's successor Terry Pegula.

Unlike Major League Baseball (which retired Jackie Robinson's number 42) and the National Hockey League (which did so for Wayne Gretzky's 99), the NFL has never retired a jersey number league-wide in honor of anyone. Numbers 0 and 00 are no longer allowed, but were not retired in honor of any particular player, since the NFL's positional numbering system, imposed in 1973, does not allocate a position for players wearing those numbers (the NFL allowed those numbers in the past; Johnny Olszewski, Obert Logan, Jim Otto, and Ken Burrough all wore 0 or 00). The numbers can be, and rarely are, used in the preseason when no other numbers for a player's position are available.[2]

Retired numbers

Elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame

Jim Kelly, the first player to have his jersey number (12) officially retired by the Buffalo Bills, is seen here in 2010

Otto Graham, whose number 14 was retired by the Browns, at his new job, as the U.S. Coast Guard Academy Athletic Director in 1959

Lenny Moore, whose number 24 was retired by the Colts, poses for a picture at Baltimore in 2011

Junior Seau, whose number 55 was retired by the Chargers, in 2008 playing a game with the New England Patriots

Phil Simms, whose number 11 was retired by the Giants, signing autographs at Rams Park in 2003

Gale Sayers, whose number 40 was retired by the Bears, giving a keynote speech at an awards ceremony in 2008 for the U.S. Army High School Football Player of the Year award

Mike Ditka, whose number 89 was retired by the Bears in a Monday night game against the Dallas Cowboys

Fran Tarkenton, whose number 10 was retired by the Vikings, after giving a speech at Atlanta in 2010

Warren Sapp (left), whose number 99 was retired by the Buccaneers, visits members of the US Navy in 2003

Player	No.	Team	Years with team	Year retired	Refs[3]
Larry Wilson	8	Arizona Cardinals	1960–72	1970
Pat Tillman	40		1998–2001	2004	[4]
Stan Mauldin	77		1946–48
J. V. Cain	88		1974–78	1979
Marshall Goldberg	99		1939–43, 1946–48
Jim Kelly	12	Buffalo Bills	1986–96	2001	[5]
Thurman Thomas	34		1988–99	2018	[6]
Bruce Smith	78		1985–99	2016	[7]
Sam Mills	51	Carolina Panthers	1995–97	2005
Bronko Nagurski	3	Chicago Bears	1930–37, 1943
George McAfee	5		1940–41, 1945–50
George Halas	7		1920–28
Willie Galimore	28		1957–63
Walter Payton	34		1975–87
Gale Sayers	40		1965–71	1994
Brian Piccolo	41		1965–69
Sid Luckman	42		1939–50
Dick Butkus	51		1965–73	1994
Bill Hewitt	56		1932–36
Bill George	61		1952–65
Bulldog Turner	66		1940–52
Red Grange	77		1925–34
Mike Ditka	89		1961–66	2013
Bob Johnson	54	Cincinnati Bengals	1968–79	1978
Otto Graham	14	Cleveland Browns	1946–55
Jim Brown	32		1957–65
Ernie Davis	45		1962[8]
Don Fleming	46		1960–62
Lou Groza	76		1946–59, 1961–67	1968	[9][10]
John Elway	7	Denver Broncos	1983–98	1999
Frank Tripucka*	18		1960–63	1963	[11]
Floyd Little	44		1967–75
Dutch Clark	7	Detroit Lions	1931-32, 1934–38
Barry Sanders	20		1989–98
Bobby Layne	22		1950–58
Doak Walker	37		1950–55
Joe Schmidt	56		1953–65
Chuck Hughes	85		1970–71
Tony Canadeo	3	Green Bay Packers	1941–52	1952
Brett Favre	4		1992–2007	2015
Don Hutson	14		1935–45	1951
Bart Starr	15		1956–71	1973
Ray Nitschke	66		1958–72	1983
Reggie White	92		1993–98	2005	[12]
Peyton Manning	18	Indianapolis Colts	1998–2011	2017	[13]
Johnny Unitas	19		1956–72		[14]
Buddy Young	22		1953–55		[14]
Lenny Moore	24		1956–67		[14]
Art Donovan	70		1953–61	1962	[14]
Jim Parker	77		1957–67		[14]
Raymond Berry	82		1955–67		[14]
Gino Marchetti	89		1953–66		[14]
Jan Stenerud	3	Kansas City Chiefs	1967–79	1992
Len Dawson	16		1962–75
Emmitt Thomas	18		1966–78	2008	[15]
Abner Haynes	28		1960–74
Stone Johnson	33		1963	1963	[16]
Mack Lee Hill	36		1964–65
Derrick Thomas	58		1989–99	2009	[17]
Willie Lanier	63		1967–77	1992
Bobby Bell	78		1963–74	1984
Buck Buchanan	86		1963–75	1992
Dan Fouts	14	Los Angeles Chargers	1973–87	1988	[18][19][20]
Lance Alworth	19		1962–70	2005	[20][21]
LaDainian Tomlinson	21		2001–09	2015	[20][22]
Junior Seau	55		1990–02	2012	[20][23]
Bob Waterfield	7	Los Angeles Rams	1945–52	1952
Marshall Faulk	28		1999–2006	2007	[24]
Eric Dickerson	29		1983–87
Merlin Olsen	74		1962–76
Deacon Jones	75		1961–71	2009	[25]
Jackie Slater	78		1976–95
Isaac Bruce	80		1994–2007	2010	[26]
Jack Youngblood	85		1971–84
Bob Griese	12	Miami Dolphins	1967–80	1985
Dan Marino	13		1983–99	2003
Larry Csonka	39		1968–74, 1979	2002
Fran Tarkenton	10	Minnesota Vikings	1961–66, 1972–78	1979
Mick Tingelhoff	53		1962–78	2001
Jim Marshall	70		1961–79	1999
Korey Stringer	77		1995–2000	2001
Cris Carter	80		1990–2001	2003
Alan Page	88		1967–78	1988
Gino Cappelletti	20	New England Patriots	1960–70		[27]
Mike Haynes	40		1976–82		[28]
Steve Nelson	57		1974–87	1988	[28]
John Hannah	73		1973–85		[28]
Bruce Armstrong	78		1987–2000	2000	[28]
Jim Lee Hunt	79		1960–70		[28]
Bob Dee	89		1960–67		[28]
Jim Taylor	31	New Orleans Saints	1967
Doug Atkins	81		1967–69	1969
Ray Flaherty	1	New York Giants	1928–35
Tuffy Leemans	4		1936–43
Mel Hein	7		1931–45
Eli Manning	10		2004–19		[29]
Phil Simms	11		1979–93	1995
Ward Cuff	14		1937–45		[30]
Y. A. Tittle	14		1961–64	1965
Frank Gifford	16		1952–64	2000
Al Blozis	32		1942–44	1945
Joe Morrison	40		1959–72	1970
Charlie Conerly	42		1948–61	1962
Ken Strong	50		1936–47	1968
Lawrence Taylor	56		1981–93	1994
Michael Strahan	92		1993-2007		[31]
Joe Namath	12	New York Jets	1965–76	1985
Don Maynard	13		1963–72
Curtis Martin	28		1998–2005	2012	[32]
Joe Klecko	73		1977–87	2004
Dennis Byrd	90		1989–92	2012	[33][34]
Donovan McNabb	5	Philadelphia Eagles	1999–2009	2013	[35]
Steve Van Buren	15		1944–51	1951	[36]
Brian Dawkins	20		1996–2008	2012	[37]
Tom Brookshier	40		1953–61	1962	[36]
Pete Retzlaff	44		1956–66	1965	[36]
Chuck Bednarik	60		1949–62
Al Wistert	70		1944–51	1952	[36]
Reggie White	92		1985–92	2005	[36][38]
Jerome Brown	99		1987–91	1992	[36][39]
Ernie Stautner	70	Pittsburgh Steelers	1950–63	1964
Joe Greene	75		1969–81	2014	[40]
Steve Young	8	San Francisco 49ers	1987–99	2008	[41]
John Brodie	12		1957–73		[42]
Joe Montana	16		1979–92	1997
Joe Perry	34		1948–60	1971
Jimmy Johnson	37		1961–76	1977
Hugh McElhenny	39		1952–60
Ronnie Lott	42		1981–90	2003	[43]
Charlie Krueger	70		1959–73	1974
Leo Nomellini	73		1950–63	1971
Bob St. Clair	79		1953–63	2001
Jerry Rice	80		1985–2000	2010	[44]
Dwight Clark	87		1979–87	1988
Kenny Easley	45	Seattle Seahawks	1981–87	2017
Walter Jones	71		1997–2009	2010
Steve Largent*	80		1976–89	1992	[45] [46]
Cortez Kennedy	96		1990–2000	2012	[47][48]
Fans (12th man)	12		N/A	1984
Derrick Brooks	55	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	1995–2008	2014	[49]
Lee Roy Selmon	63		1976–84	1986
Warren Sapp	99		1995–2003	2013	[50]
Warren Moon	1	Tennessee Titans	1984–93	2006	[51][52]
Steve McNair	9		1995–2005	2019	[53]
Eddie George	27		1996–2003	2019	[53]
Earl Campbell	34		1978–84	1987
Jim Norton	43		1960–68	2019
Mike Munchak	63		1982–93	1996
Elvin Bethea	65		1968–83
Bruce Matthews	74		1983–2001
Sammy Baugh	33	Washington Football Team	1937–52		[54]
Bobby Mitchell	49		1962–68	2020	[54]

Key:

*- Player listed as honorable mention and was allowed to wear number after original retirement

See also

• List of Green Bay Packers retired numbers
• Los Angeles Chargers retired numbers

References

1. "Atlanta Falcons Ring Of Honor". Atlanta.
2. "The 00 Fad: It's Much Ado About Nothing". The Chicago Tribune. May 27, 1990.
3. "NFL Retired Player Numbers". NFL.com. National Football League. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
4. "Pat Tillman". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
5. The Times newspaper 2001-12-19, scanned and uploaded to Google News, retrieved December 6, 2011
6. Bills to retire Thurman Thomas' number 34 during Monday's game. Rochester First (October 29, 2018). Retrieved October 30, 2018.
7. Bills’ Bruce Smith to have jersey number retired at 2016 home opener. WIVB-TV (May 10, 2016). Retrieved May 10, 2016.
8. Davis was a member of the 1962 Browns team but due to a bout of cancer that at the time was in remission, coach Paul Brown refused to play him. The cancer returned later in 1962, eventually killing Davis in the 1963 offseason. Ernie Davis biography
9. "Lou "The Toe" Groza". Lou Groza Charity Golf Event. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
10. "Lou Groza". American Football Kicking Hall of Fame. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
11. • Peyton Manning received permission from Tripucka to wear No. 18 during his time with the Broncos.
12. "Packers retire Reggie White's jersey" Archived April 26, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, October 11, 1999
13. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on March 20, 2016. Retrieved March 18, 2016.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
14. Played for the Colts while the franchise was at Baltimore.
15. "HugeDomains.com - KcChiefsFootball.com is for sale (Kc Chiefs Football)". www.hugedomains.com. Archived from the original on March 21, 2012. Cite uses generic title (help)
16. Johnson died from injuries sustained in the 1963 preseason, his rookie campaign. Stone Johnson died 50 years ago from injury in NFL game
17. "Chiefs retire Thomas' No. 58 at half" - ESPN, December 6, 2009
18. Hewitt, Brian (March 31, 1988). "Chargers Have Seen Their Final No. 14 : Spanos Says Fouts' Jersey to Become Only One Retired by Team". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
19. Crow, Alfie (May 12, 2012). "Chargers Will Retire Junior Seau's No. 55". SB Nation. Retrieved December 30, 2018. Fouts' number was retired in 1988 and Alworth's was retired in 2005.
20. Played for the Chargers while the franchise was at San Diego.
21. "On a banner day for Alworth, Chargers retire jersey No. 19", The San Diego Union Tribune, November 21, 2005
22. "Chargers To Retire LaDainian Tomlinson's Number". Archived from the original on March 31, 2016. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
23. ESPN, May 11, 2012
24. "Rams retire Faulk's No. 28 jersey at halftime", NFL news (official), December 22, 2007
25. "Rams retire Jones' No. 75 jersey", ESPN, September 27, 2009
26. "Rams retire Isaac Bruce's number", ESPN, October 31, 2010
27. "NFL Players | Taste of the NFL". tnfl.
28. "Patriots Grogan and Bledsoe Caught in Retired Numbers Game | Bleacher Report | Latest News, Videos and Highlights".
29. Botte, Peter (January 24, 2020). "Eli Manning saying goodbye to Giants 'my way' in retirement press conference".
30. "NY Giants information guide" (PDF). prod.static.giants.clubs.nfl.com. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
31. "Giants also planning to retire Michael Strahan's No. 92". January 25, 2020.
32. "Curtis Martin has jersey number retired by Jets", Daynews, September 9, 2012
33. Cimini, Rich (October 24, 2012). "The bond no man could break". ESPNNewYork.com. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
34. Lange, Randy (October 28, 2012). "Jets Come Up Empty in 30-9 Loss to Dolphins". NewYorkJets.com. Retrieved October 29, 2012.
35. "Fans cheer as McNabb has number retired". ESPN.com. September 20, 2013.
36. Daily Philadelphian.com Archived May 13, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, August 14, 2011
37. "Dawkins Speaks, Number Retired".
38. "Eagles honor Reggie White, retire his jersey", ESPN, December 5, 2005
39. "Eagles make sure no one wears 99 again" - The Morning Call, September 7, 1992
40. "'Completely overwhelming': Steelers raise curtain on Joe Greene's No. 75". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
41. "49ers to retire Young's #8", TSN website, September 25, 2008
42. Trent Dilfer received permission from Brodie, a personal friend, to wear #12 during his time with the 49ers."Dilfer to wear longtime hero Brodie's No. 12", ESPN, July 28, 2006
43. "49ers to retire Lott's jersey" - SF Gate.com, November 6, 2003
44. "49ers retire Jerry Rice's number at half" - ESPN, September 21, 2010
45. Jerry Rice received permission from Largent to wear #80 during his time with the Seahawks.
46. "Seahawks/NFL: Loan of No. 80 a class act by Hawks' classiest", October 22, 2004
47. "Seahawks retire Cortez Kennedy's No. 96", King5.com Archived December 3, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, October 14, 2012
48. "Hawks to retire Cortez Kennedy’s jersey", The News Tribune, October 11, 2012
49. "Brooks' #55 To Be Retired".
50. "Bucs to retire Warren Sapp's No. 99", May 2, 2013
51. "Titans Retire Warren Moon's No. 1", October 6, 2010
52. "Retired jersey numbers on Titans website". Archived from the original on July 8, 2017. Retrieved December 4, 2011.
53. Wagner-McGough, Sean (June 12, 2019). "Titans to retire Steve McNair's No. 9 and Eddie George's No. 27 jerseys during home opener". CBSSports.com. Retrieved June 13, 2019.
54. Keim, John (June 20, 2020). "Washington Redskins to retire No. 49 of Bobby Mitchell, HOFer and team's first black player". ESPN. Retrieved June 20, 2020.