Brandon Marshall Racing For Jersey Number With Jets
(CBS) Jets wide receiver Brandon Marshall, who was recently traded from the Bears, won't just be able to buy his preferred No. 15 jersey from teammate Saalim Hakim, he'll have to race him for it.
It's customary for veterans to be able to just purchase numbers, with the going rate of $25,000. But Hakim, the younger brother of former NFL receiver Az Hakim, went undrafted from Palomar College in 2011 and has bounced around before landing with the Jets. Thus, he feels he's earned his number and isn't going to give it up easy.
Hakim is a speedster who ran an unofficial 4.23-second 40-yard dash at his pro day. So he said if Marshall can beat him in a 40-yard dash, he can get the number fair and square. If he can't, he'll have to pay Hakim $25,000 to get the jersey.
Marshall's never been known to shy away from anything that will garner publicity, and he has apparently accepted the challenge, per a report.