When Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner was drafted by the New York Jets, he desperately wanted one particular jersey number.
Determined to secure his old college number, the rookie cornerback decided to make his first big purchase to teammate D.J. Reed for the number 1. Gardner was said to have given $50,000 to wear the number for his rookie season.
His story prompted one former All-Pro player revealing he paid five times that amount.
Gerald McCoy told the NFL Total Access crew that he paid $250,000 for the No. 93 jersey when he moved from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the Carolina Panthers.
“Hey listen that $50,000 is cute. That’s cute. But what does your legacy mean to you? I’ve been wearing 93 since I went to college so when I went to the Carolina Panthers I wanted to wear No. 93. But, it didn’t cost me $50,000. It cost me $250,000.”
McCoy said his wife actually pushed him to do it.
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“Hey listen, I wasn’t going to do it, but my wife said, ‘that’s your legacy.'”
McCoy only played one season with the Panthers.
The No. 3 overall pick in the 2010 NFL draft, McCoy spent his first nine NFL seasons in Tampa Bay, and played all 16 games for the Panthers in 2020.
McCoy has missed most of the last two seasons due to injury while playing for the Dallas Cowboys and Las Vegas Raiders.
