Why Minnesota Vikings RB Dalvin Cook Won’t Change Number 33
We all know when we look on the football field and see number 33, it's Dalvin Cook.
He is one of the top-selling jerseys for the Minnesota Vikings, and one of the top running backs in the NFL, so he sells plenty of jerseys to non Viking fans, as welll as Minnesota Viking fans.
According to Viking Sports Wire, Dalvin Cook once wore number 4 when he played at Florida State in college. The NFL approved a new rule for certain position groups, like Wide receivers and running backs, defensive and offensive line players to be able to have different numbers. Now, it’s not just quarterbacks, all skill position players can wear single-digit uniform numbers. So, Dalvin Cook could change his number to his old number 4.
Wait! You can't just change your number like that. There are a few other rules. What will happen to all the old Dalvin Cook number 33 jerseys? Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio reported that as per NFL rules, Cook would have to purchase the remaining inventory of unsold jerseys. The NFL let him know what that price tag would be, $1.5 million dollars.
Vikings Wire is saying that other Minnesota Vikings have voiced an interest in changing their numbers like Cameron Dantzler, Patrick Peterson, and Hercules Mata’afa. Now, their price tag might not be as high because they are not one of the top players like Cook is. There isn't as big of an inventory of jerseys as Dalvin Cook has.
Tom Brady has weighed in on a story on Yahoo Sports and said people aren't going to know who to block or tackle because of the number change. I would be mad if I were an offensive or defensive player. He's basically saying they are all dumb.
I think that a lot of the players will not do it for the same reason Dalvin Cook won't.