Most rule-change proposals in the NFL tend to revolve around hot-button issues: player safety, replay review, overtime and other topics that generate media discussion and fan interest every fall.
The Eagles, however, have proposed a rule that falls outside that realm. Philadelphia has asked the competition committee to allow players to wear uniform No. 0, according to a Tuesday report from Kalyn Kahler of The Athletic.
NFL players have not been allowed to wear No. 0 or No. 00 in the regular season since 1973, the year the league altered the numbering system it initially implemented in 1952. No. 0 appeared on league rosters with relative frequency before then, dating back to Kansas City Cowboys back Phil White, who wore No. 0 in 1925.
An example of a prominent pre-’73 No. 00 was Hall of Fame center Jim Otto, whose number was a pun on his last name (“aught-oh”). Oilers wide receiver Ken Burrough was the last player to wear No. 0 or No. 00 in the NFL. Because he wore No. 00 before the 1973 rule change, he was allowed to continue using it for the remainder of his NFL career through the 1981 season.
In 2021, the NFL tweaked its uniform rules, allowing non-lineman to wear single-digit numbers.
