Raiders running back Josh Jacobs has worn jersey No. 28 in his four seasons in the NFL. He wanted to switch to his college number of 8 last season until he learned he would owe the NFL $3.5 million for the remaining inventory of Jacobs’ 28 jerseys.
“So I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m not going to do that,’” Jacobs said, via Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Jacobs does not have to pay for a switch for this season. So, after returning to the team this week, following the signing of his one-year deal worth up to $12 million, Jacobs chose to return to his Alabama number.
It’s a number that makes him “feel like a superhero for real.”
“It’s just the number I feel like it brings out something different in me,” Jacobs said. “Even in college, I feel like I took that leap in that number. So, I mean it’s going to be fun to see what I could do with it and just try to make it a staple.”
It will take a lot to top what he did last season when Jacobs led the league in touches (393), yards from scrimmage (2,053) and rushing yards (1,653).