Players sometimes have to buy-out a teammate if they want a particular jersey number. I've heard about players getting a pretty big chunk of change from a new member of the team for the right to wear their favorite number -- the one they wore through college and high school.

But I've never heard of this -- and it impresses me greatly.

[Running Back Ahman] Green, who started wearing 30 even before attending Nebraska, became optimistic but still wasn't sure what it might cost him. The tradition around the NFL is that if you want someone else's number, you pay them.

When Green finally asked, [safety Jason] Simmons shocked him.

"He said, 'Sure, but I'd like you to make a down payment on a single-parent home through a foundation or charity,' " Green said. "I was like, 'Yeah I'm all on board. That's easy. Tell me where to write the check to.'

"So instead of putting the money into his pocket, he's going to put in into somebody else's home and help them get their life started."

Simmons had no personal connection to the number 30. He wore 23 for four seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. When he arrived in Houston as a free agent before the 2002 season, they handed him 30.

Now, he will wear No. 22.

Some family will have a home because of Simmons and Green -- and I hope that we have the beginning of a new tradition here in Houston and around the NFL.

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Posted by: Greg at 10:37 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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