Teams in the National Football League retire jersey numbers of players who are considered to have extraordinary talent and have made significant contributions to that team's success. Since the NFL began retiring numbers, 139 players have had their jersey number retired. The Chicago Bears have the most retired numbers of any team with 13. The late Reggie White has had his number retired by two different teams: the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers. But three teams, the Oakland Raiders, Atlanta Falcons and Dallas Cowboys, traditionally don't retire jersey numbers. Also without a retired jersey number are the Houston Texans, the Jacksonville Jaguars, and Baltimore Ravens. However, all of those teams are less than 20 years old, and may retire numbers in the future.
Elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame |
Conference | Team | # | Player | Years with the team | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
AFC East | Bills | 12 | Jim Kelly | 1986-96 | |
AFC East | Dolphins | 12 | Bob Griese | 1967-80 | |
AFC East | Dolphins | 13 | Dan Marino | 1983-99 | |
AFC East | Dolphins | 39 | Larry Csonka | 1968-74, 1979 | |
AFC East | Patriots | 20 | Gino Cappelletti | 1960-70 | |
AFC East | Patriots | 40 | Mike Haynes | 1976-82 | |
AFC East | Patriots | 57 | Steve Nelson | 1974-87 | |
AFC East | Patriots | 73 | John Hannah | 1973-85 | |
AFC East | Patriots | 78 | Bruce Armstrong | 1987-2000 | |
AFC East | Patriots | 79 | Jim Lee Hunt | 1960-70 | |
AFC East | Patriots | 89 | Bob Dee | 1960-67 | |
AFC East | Jets | 12 | Joe Namath | 1965-76 | |
AFC East | Jets | 13 | Don Maynard | 1963-72 | |
AFC East | Jets | 28 | Curtis Martin | 1998-2005 | |
AFC East | Jets | 73 | Joe Klecko | 1977-87 | |
AFC East | Jets | 90 | Dennis Byrd | 1989–92 | |
AFC North | Ravens | (None) | |||
AFC North | Bengals | 54 | Bob Johnson | 1968-79 | |
AFC North | Browns | 14 | Otto Graham | 1946-55 | |
AFC North | Browns | 32 | Jim Brown | 1957-65 | |
AFC North | Browns | 45 | Ernie Davis | (None) | |
AFC North | Browns | 46 | Don Fleming | 1960-62 | |
AFC North | Browns | 76 | Lou Groza | 1946-59, 1961-67 | |
AFC North | Steelers | 70 | Ernie Stautner | 1950-63 | |
AFC South | Texans | (None) | |||
AFC South | Colts | 18 | Peyton Manning | 1996-2011 | |
AFC South | Colts | 19 | Johnny Unitas | 1956-72 | |
AFC South | Colts | 22 | Buddy Young | 1953-55 | |
AFC South | Colts | 24 | Lenny Moore | 1956-67 | |
AFC South | Colts | 70 | Art Donovan | 1950, 1953-61 | |
AFC South | Colts | 77 | Jim Parker | 1957-67 | |
AFC South | Colts | 82 | Raymond Berry | 1955-67 | |
AFC South | Colts | 89 | Gino Marchetti | 1953-66 | |
AFC South | Jaguars | (None) | |||
AFC South | Titans | 1 | Warren Moon | 1984-93 | |
AFC South | Titans | 34 | Earl Campbell | 1978-84 | |
AFC South | Titans | 43 | Jim Norton | 1960-68 | |
AFC South | Titans | 63 | Mike Munchak | 1982-93 | |
AFC South | Titans | 65 | Elvin Bethea | 1968-83 | |
AFC South | Titans | 74 | Bruce Matthews | 1983-2001 | |
AFC West | Broncos | 7 | John Elway | 1983-99 | |
AFC West | Broncos | 18 | Frank Tripucka | 1960-63 | |
AFC West | Broncos | 44 | Floyd Little | 1967-75 | |
AFC West | Chiefs | 3 | Jan Stenerud | 1967-79 | |
AFC West | Chiefs | 16 | Len Dawson | 1962-75 | |
AFC West | Chiefs | 18 | Emmitt Thomas | 1966-78 | |
AFC West | Chiefs | 28 | Abner Haynes | 1960-74 | |
AFC West | Chiefs | 33 | Stone Johnson | 1963 (posthumous) | |
AFC West | Chiefs | 36 | Mack Lee Hill | 1964-65 (posthumous) | |
AFC West | Chiefs | 58 | Derrick Thomas | 1989-99 (posthumous) | |
AFC West | Chiefs | 63 | Willie Lanier | 1967-77 | |
AFC West | Chiefs | 78 | Bobby Bell | 1963-74 | |
AFC West | Chiefs | 86 | Buck Buchanan | 1963-75 | |
AFC West | Chargers | 14 | Dan Fouts | 1973-87 | |
AFC West | Chargers | 19 | Lance Alworth | 1962-70 | |
AFC West | Chargers | 55 | Junior Seau | 1990-02 (posthumous) | |
AFC West | Raiders | (None) | |||
NFC East | Redskins | 33 | Sammy Baugh | 1937-52 | |
NFC East | Cowboys | (None) | |||
NFC East | Giants | 1 | Ray Flaherty | 1928-35 | |
NFC East | Giants | 4 | Tuffy Leemans | 1936-43 | |
NFC East | Giants | 7 | Mel Hein | 1931-45 | |
NFC East | Giants | 11 | Phil Simms | 1979-93 | |
NFC East | Giants | 14 | Y. A. Tittle | 1961-64 | |
NFC East | Giants | 16 | Frank Gifford | 1952-64 | |
NFC East | Giants | 32 | Al Blozis | 1942-44 (posthumous) | |
NFC East | Giants | 40 | Joe Morrison | 1959-72 | |
NFC East | Giants | 42 | Charlie Conerly | 1948-61 | |
NFC East | Giants | 50 | Ken Strong | 1936-47 | |
NFC East | Giants | 56 | Lawrence Taylor | 1981-93 | |
NFC East | Eagles | 15 | Steve Van Buren | 1944-51 | |
NFC East | Eagles | 20 | Brian Dawkins | 1996-2008, 2012 | |
NFC East | Eagles | 40 | Tom Brookshier | 1953-61 | |
NFC East | Eagles | 44 | Pete Retzlaff | 1956-66 | |
NFC East | Eagles | 60 | Chuck Bednarik | 1949-62 | |
NFC East | Eagles | 70 | Al Wistert | 1944-51 | |
NFC East | Eagles | 92 | Reggie White | 1985-92 (posthumous) | |
NFC East | Eagles | 99 | Jerome Brown | 1987-91 (posthumous) | |
NFC North | Bears | 3 | Bronko Nagurski | 1930-37, 1943 | |
NFC North | Bears | 5 | George McAfee | 1940-41, 1945-50 | |
NFC North | Bears | 7 | George Halas | 1920-28 | |
NFC North | Bears | 28 | Willie Galimore | 1957-63 | |
NFC North | Bears | 34 | Walter Payton | 1975-87 | |
NFC North | Bears | 40 | Gale Sayers | 1965-71 | |
NFC North | Bears | 41 | Brian Piccolo | 1965-69 (posthumous) | |
NFC North | Bears | 42 | Sid Luckman | 1939-50 | |
NFC North | Bears | 51 | Dick Butkus | 1965-73 | |
NFC North | Bears | 56 | Bill Hewitt | 1932-36 | |
NFC North | Bears | 61 | Bill George | 1952-65 | |
NFC North | Bears | 66 | Bulldog Turner | 1940-52 | |
NFC North | Bears | 77 | Red Grange | 1925-34 | |
NFC North | Lions | 7 | Dutch Clark | 1934-38 | |
NFC North | Lions | 20 | Barry Sanders | 1989-98 | |
NFC North | Lions | 22 | Bobby Layne | 1950-58 | |
NFC North | Lions | 37 | Doak Walker | 1950-55 | |
NFC North | Lions | 56 | Joe Schmidt | 1953-65 | |
NFC North | Lions | 85 | Chuck Hughes | 1970-71 (posthumous) | |
NFC North | Packers | 3 | Tony Canadeo | 1941-52 | |
NFC North | Packers | 14 | Don Hutson | 1935-45 | |
NFC North | Packers | 15 | Bart Starr | 1956-71 | |
NFC North | Packers | 66 | Ray Nitschke | 1958-72 | |
NFC North | Packers | 92 | Reggie White | 1993-98 | |
NFC North | Vikings | 10 | Fran Tarkenton | 1961-78 | |
NFC North | Vikings | 53 | Mick Tingelhoff | 1962-78 | |
NFC North | Vikings | 70 | Jim Marshall | 1961-79 | |
NFC North | Vikings | 77 | Korey Stringer | 1995-2000 (posthumous) | |
NFC North | Vikings | 80 | Cris Carter | 1990-2001 | |
NFC North | Vikings | 88 | Alan Page | 1967-78 | |
NFC South | Falcons | (None) | |||
NFC South | Panthers | 51 | Sam Mills | 1995-97 (posthumous) | |
NFC South | Saints | 8 | Archie Manning | 1971-75, 1977-82 | |
NFC South | Saints | 31 | Jim Taylor | 1967 | |
NFC South | Saints | 81 | Doug Atkins | 1967-69 | |
NFC South | Buccaneers | 63 | Lee Roy Selmon | 1976-84 | |
NFC West | Cardinals | 8 | Larry Wilson | 1960-72 | |
NFC West | Cardinals | 40 | Pat Tillman | 1998-2001 (posthumous) | |
NFC West | Cardinals | 77 | Stan Mauldin | 1946-48 (posthumous) | |
NFC West | Cardinals | 88 | J. V. Cain | 1974-78 (posthumous) | |
NFC West | Cardinals | 99 | Marshall Goldberg | 1939-43, 1946-48 | |
NFC West | 49ers | 8 | Steve Young | 1987-99 | |
NFC West | 49ers | 12 | John Brodie | 1957-73 | |
NFC West | 49ers | 16 | Joe Montana | 1979-92 | |
NFC West | 49ers | 34 | Joe Perry | 1948-60 | |
NFC West | 49ers | 37 | Jimmy Johnson | 1961-76 | |
NFC West | 49ers | 39 | Hugh McElhenny | 1952-60 | |
NFC West | 49ers | 42 | Ronnie Lott | 1981-90 | |
NFC West | 49ers | 70 | Charlie Krueger | 1959-73 | |
NFC West | 49ers | 73 | Leo Nomellini | 1950-63 | |
NFC West | 49ers | 79 | Bob St. Clair | 1953-63 | |
NFC West | 49ers | 80 | Jerry Rice | 1985-2000 | |
NFC West | 49ers | 87 | Dwight Clark | 1979-87 | |
NFC West | Seahawks | 12 | Fans ("the 12th man") | ||
NFC West | Seahawks | 71 | Walter Jones | 1997-2009 | |
NFC West | Seahawks | 80 | Steve Largent | 1976-89 | |
NFC West | Seahawks | 96 | Cortez Kennedy | 1990-2000 | |
NFC West | Rams | 7 | Bob Waterfield | 1945-52 | |
NFC West | Rams | 28 | Marshall Faulk | 1999-2006 | |
NFC West | Rams | 29 | Eric Dickerson | 1983-87 | |
NFC West | Rams | 74 | Merlin Olsen | 1962-76 | |
NFC West | Rams | 75 | Deacon Jones | 1961-71 | |
NFC West | Rams | 78 | Jackie Slater | 1976-95 | |
NFC West | Rams | 80 | Isaac Bruce | 1994-2007 | |
NFC West | Rams | 85 | Jack Youngblood | 1971-84 |
Famous quotes containing the words list of, list, national, football, league, retired and/or numbers:
“Thirtythe promise of a decade of loneliness, a thinning list of single men to know, a thinning brief-case of enthusiasm, thinning hair.”
—F. Scott Fitzgerald (18961940)
“The advice of their elders to young men is very apt to be as unreal as a list of the hundred best books.”
—Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (18411935)
“Universal suffrage should rest upon universal education. To this end, liberal and permanent provision should be made for the support of free schools by the State governments, and, if need be, supplemented by legitimate aid from national authority.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (18221893)
“You cant be a Real Country unless you have A BEER and an airlineit helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a BEER.”
—Frank Zappa (19401993)
“Were the victims of a disease called social prejudice, my child. These dear ladies of the law and order league are scouring out the dregs of the town. Cmon be a glorified wreck like me.”
—Dudley Nichols (18951960)
“I will never accept that I got a free ride. It wasnt free at all. My ancestors were brought here against their will. They were made to work and help build the country. I worked in the cotton fields from the age of seven. I worked in the laundry for twenty- three years. I worked for the national organization for nine years. I just retired from city government after twelve-and-a- half years.”
—Johnnie Tillmon (b. 1926)
“The land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it.”
—Bible: Hebrew Numbers 35:33.