Former Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins revealed the price to get the No. 8 jersey in Atlanta was far too steep, even for his incredibly deep pockets.
The veteran QB joined the Atlanta Falcons last month after six seasons in Minnesota. Throughout his career Cousins has donned the No. 8 jersey, except for for his first two seasons in Washington when he wore the No. 12. Currently in Atlanta tight end Kyle Pitts occupies the No. 8 jersey.
Cousins told the story of his number selection in Atlanta on a recent edition of Shaquille O’Neal’s The Big Podcast, saying the league got in the way of the jersey swap.
“So he wanted to switch numbers, anyway. So it was like a perfect fit,” Cousins said. “And then the league spoke into it. They were like ‘Well, Kyle Pitts has a lot of jerseys that are No. 8 with Pitts on the back. You would have to buy every single one.'”
According to league rules if players want to switch numbers immediately they have to buyout the remaining stock of their current jerseys, at full retail price. Former Vikings running back Dalvin Cook was quoted a $1.5 million price tag when he initially wanted to switch from No. 33 to No. 4.
If a player declines to cut the check for the remaining stock, they can request the number change for the following season at no cost.
“I was like ‘What is it?’ It was a big number,” Cousins continued. “And I was like ‘I don’t want to write that check.'”
Cousins didn’t initially reveal how much the league was asking for but after Shaq prodded for the answer Cousins responded “several hundred thousand [dollars].”
“Oh yeah, no we not writing that check,” responded Shaq.
“So I was like ‘I’m good with 18,'” said Cousins. “And Kyle was like ‘I’m good with 8.'”
