Patriots No. 9: Will JuJu Smith-Schuster Buy Matthew Judon's Number For 'Lamborghini Money'?
Is a football jersey number worth a Lamborghini?
Thanks to New England Patriots' Pro Bowl edge rusher Matthew Judon, we're about to find out.
Judon was the Pats' lone star from 2022, leading a Top 10 defense that scored seven touchdowns and played well enough to make a deep playoff run. The offense that kept that from happening is getting help this offseason, specifically in the form of newly signed free-agent receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster.
With the Kansas City Chiefs last season, Smith-Schuster wore No. 9. As the Pats' splash signing, of course he wants to wear that number in Foxboro. Enter Judon, current owner of No. 9.
Oops.
Judon has only been wearing it for two seasons - he wore No. 99 during his five seasons in Baltimore - so he might be open to making a change. Commence negotiations.
During a recent interview on 98.5 The Sports Hub in Boston, Smith-Schuster revealed just how much it would cost him if he wanted to get No. 9 from Judon.
"When you're on the same team and you have the same number and if you change it, you have to pay the fee for the rest of that jersey," Smith-Schuster said. "And then whatever new number you get, you've got to pay another inventory for that and that's a whole process. He's probably going to have to ask for like $100K, which I'm definitely not going to do."
Under NFL rules, if a player decides to switch their number, they have to buy the unsold inventory of any jersey that's already been produced with that number, which means Smith-Schuster would have to cut a check to buy out the rest of Judon's No. 9 jerseys (That's where his $100,000 estimate comes from). On top of that, he'd probably also have to pay Judon some money for the number, so we're talking well over $100,000.
"I probably wouldn't go over, probably, $30K," said Smith-Schuster, who signed a three-year contract worth $33 million.
JuJu wore No. 19 with the Steelers, and that number is available in New England.
"I might have to go back to 19," Smith-Schuster said.
Hearing of his new teammate's desire to wear his number, Judon jumped into the fray and established his asking price for No. 9 ... at $200,000.
“He can have it for the price of a lambo,” Judon posted on Twitter.
A Lamborghini typically starts at $200,000.
So we're expecting to see Smith-Schuster wearing No. 19 this season, right?
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