Perhaps there is no greater honor in professional sports. In 1935 the New York Giants retired the uniform number of receiver Ray Flaherty (No. 1), thus becoming the first professional athlete to have his name and number etched in eternity by his team.

Currently, 139 players, including Seattle retiring the No. 12 recognizing Seahawks fans, have had this honor bestowed upon them.

The Chicago Bears have the most retired numbers of any team with 14. Only one player, Reggie White, has had their number retired by two teams. Three teams -- the Oakland Raiders, Atlanta Falcons and Dallas Cowboys -- traditionally do not retire jersey numbers, and two others -- the Washington Redskins and the Pittsburgh Steelers -- only do so in extremely rare circumstances. Also without a retired jersey number are the Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars

The following are the 139 players to have their number currently retired:

Currently Retired NFL Jersey Numbers

Source: NFL
PlayerNumberTeamSeasons with Team
Larry Wilson8Arizona Cardinals1960 - 72
Pat Tillman40Arizona Cardinals1998 - 2001
Stan Mauldin77Arizona Cardinals1946 - 48
J. V. Cain88Arizona Cardinals1974 - 78
Marshall Goldberg99Arizona Cardinals1939 - 43, 1946 - 48
Jim Kelly12Buffalo Bills1986 - 96<
Thurman Thomas34Buffalo Bills1988 - 99
Bruce Smith78Buffalo Bills1985 - 99
Sam Mills51Carolina Panthers1995 - 97
Bronko Nagurski3Chicago Bears1930 - 37, 1943
George McAfee5Chicago Bears1940 - 41, 1945 - 50
George Halas7Chicago Bears1920 - 28
Willie Galimore28Chicago Bears1957 - 63
Walter Payton34Chicago Bears1975 - 87
Gale Sayers40Chicago Bears1965 - 71
Brian Piccolo41Chicago Bears1965 - 69
Sid Luckman42Chicago Bears1939 - 50
Dick Butkus51Chicago Bears1965 - 73
Bill Hewitt56Chicago Bears1932 - 36
Bill George61Chicago Bears1952 - 65
Bulldog Turner66Chicago Bears1940 - 52
Red Grange77Chicago Bears1925 - 34
Mike Ditka89Chicago Bears1961 - 66
Bob Johnson54Cincinnati Bengals1968 - 79
Otto Graham14Cleveland Browns1946 - 55
Jim Brown32Cleveland Browns1957 - 65
Ernie Davis45Cleveland Browns1962
Don Fleming46Cleveland Browns1960 - 62
Lou Groza76Cleveland Browns1946 - 59, 1961 - 67
John Elway7Denver Broncos1983 - 99
Frank Tripucka18Denver Broncos1960 - 63
Floyd Little44Denver Broncos1967 - 75
Dutch Clark7Detroit Lions1934 - 38
Barry Sanders20Detroit Lions1989 - 98
Bobby Layne22Detroit Lions1950 - 58
Doak Walker37Detroit Lions1950 - 55
Joe Schmidt56Detroit Lions1953 - 65
Chuck Hughes85Detroit Lions1970 - 71
Tony Canadeo3Green Bay Packers1941 - 52
Brett Favre4Green Bay Packers1992 - 2007
Don Hutson14Green Bay Packers1935 - 45
Bart Starr15Green Bay Packers1956 - 71
Ray Nitschke66Green Bay Packers1958 - 72
Reggie White92Green Bay Packers1993 - 98
Peyton Manning18Indianapolis Colts1998 - 2011
Johnny Unitas19Indianapolis Colts1956 - 72
Buddy Young22Indianapolis Colts1953 - 55
Lenny Moore24Indianapolis Colts1956 - 67
Art Donovan70Indianapolis Colts1953 - 61
Jim Parker77Indianapolis Colts1957 - 67
Raymond Berry82Indianapolis Colts1955 - 67
Gino Marchetti89Indianapolis Colts1953 - 66
Jan Stenerud3Kansas City Chiefs1967 - 79
Len Dawson16Kansas City Chiefs1962 - 75
Emmitt Thomas18Kansas City Chiefs1966 - 78
Abner Haynes28Kansas City Chiefs1960 - 74
Stone Johnson33Kansas City Chiefs1963
Mack Lee Hill36Kansas City Chiefs1964 - 65
Derrick Thomas58Kansas City Chiefs1989 - 99
Willie Lanier63Kansas City Chiefs1967 - 77
Bobby Bell78Kansas City Chiefs1963 - 74
Buck Buchanan86Kansas City Chiefs1963 - 75
Dan Fouts14Los Angeles Chargers1973 - 87
Lance Alworth19Los Angeles Chargers1962 - 70
LaDainian Tomlinson21Los Angeles Chargers2001 - 09
Junior Seau55Los Angeles Chargers1990 - 02
Bob Waterfield7Los Angeles Rams1945 - 52
Marshall Faulk28Los Angeles Rams1999 - 2006
Eric Dickerson29Los Angeles Rams1983 - 87
Merlin Olsen74Los Angeles Rams1962 - 76
Deacon Jones75Los Angeles Rams1961 - 71
Jackie Slater78Los Angeles Rams1976 - 95
Isaac Bruce80Los Angeles Rams1994 - 2007
Jack Youngblood85Los Angeles Rams1971 - 84
Bob Griese12Miami Dolphins1967 - 80
Dan Marino13Miami Dolphins1983 - 99
Larry Csonka39[[Miami Dolphins1968 - 74, 1979
Fran Tarkenton10Minnesota Vikings1961 - 66, 1972 - 78
Mick Tingelhoff53Minnesota Vikings1962 - 78
Jim Marshall70Minnesota Vikings1961 - 79
Korey Stringer77Minnesota Vikings1995 - 2000
Cris Carter80Minnesota Vikings1990 - 2001
Alan Page88Minnesota Vikings1967 - 78
Gino Cappelletti20New England Patriots1960 - 70
Mike Haynes dab=cornerback40New England Patriots1976 - 82
Steve Nelson57'''[[New England Patriots1974 - 87
John Hannah73New England Patriots1973 - 85
Bruce Armstrong78New England Patriots1987 - 2000
Jim Lee Hunt79New England Patriots1960 - 70
Bob Dee89New England Patriots1960 - 67
Jim Taylor31New Orleans Saints1967
Doug Atkins81New Orleans Saints1967 - 69
Ray Flaherty1New York Giants1928 - 35
Tuffy Leemans4New York Giants1936 - 43
Mel Hein7New York Giants1931 - 45
Phil Simms11New York Giants1979 - 93
Ward Cuff14New York Giants1937 - 45
Y. A. Tittle14New York Giants1961 - 64
Frank Gifford16New York Giants1952 - 64
Al Blozis32New York Giants1942 - 44
Charlie Conerly42New York Giants1948 - 61
Ken Strong50New York Giants1936 - 47
Lawrence Taylor56New York Giants1981 - 93
Joe Namath12New York Jets1965 - 76
Don Maynard13New York Jets1963 - 72
Curtis Martin28New York Jets1998 - 2005
Joe Klecko73New York Jets1977 - 87
Dennis Byrd90New York Jets1989 - 92
Donovan McNabb5Philadelphia Eagles1999 - 2009
Steve Van Buren15Philadelphia Eagles1944 - 51
Brian Dawkins20Philadelphia Eagles1996 - 2008
Tom Brookshier40Philadelphia Eagles1953 - 61
Pete Retzlaff44Philadelphia Eagles1956 - 66
Chuck Bednarik60Philadelphia Eagles1949 - 62
Al Wistert70Philadelphia Eagles1944 - 51
Reggie White92Philadelphia Eagles1985 - 92
Jerome Brown99Philadelphia Eagles1987 - 91
Ernie Stautner70Pittsburgh Steelers1950 - 63
Joe Greene75Pittsburgh Steelers1969 - 81
Steve Young8San Francisco 49ers1987 - 99
John Brodie12San Francisco 49ers1957 - 73
Joe Montana16San Francisco 49ers1979 - 92
Joe Perry34San Francisco 49ers1948 - 60
Jimmy Johnson37San Francisco 49ers1961 - 76
Hugh McElhenny39San Francisco 49ers1952 - 60
Ronnie Lott42San Francisco 49ers1981 - 90
Charlie Krueger70San Francisco 49ers1959 - 73
Leo Nomellini73San Francisco 49ers1950 - 63
Bob St. Clair79San Francisco 49ers1953 - 63
Jerry Rice80San Francisco 49ers1985 - 2000
Dwight Clark87San Francisco 49ers1979 - 87
Kenny Easley45Seattle Seahawks1981 - 87
Walter Jones71Seattle Seahawks1997 - 2009
Steve Largent80Seattle Seahawks1976 - 89
Cortez Kennedy96Seattle Seahawks1990 - 2000
"12th Man" Fans12Seattle Seahawks1984 -
Derrick Brooks55Tampa Bay Buccaneers1995 - 08
Lee Roy Selmon63Tampa Bay Buccaneers1976 - 84
Warren Sapp99Tampa Bay Buccaneers1995 - 03
Warren Moon1Tennessee Titans1984 - 93
Earl Campbell34Tennessee Titans1978 - 84
Jim Norton dab=safety43Tennessee Titans1960 - 68
Mike Munchak63Tennessee Titans1982 - 93
Elvin Bethea65Tennessee Titans1968 - 83
Bruce Matthews74Tennessee Titans1983 - 2001
Sammy Baugh33Washington Redskins1937 - 52

 

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NFL History - Currently Retired NFL Jersey Numbers