“You Could Probably Buy a House…”: Ashton Jeanty Reveals How Much He Paid Daniel Carlson for the #2 Jersey

A few seasons ago, the NFL updated its jersey number rules to more closely align with college football, allowing just about any player (except offensive linemen and quarterbacks, it seems) to wear any jersey number they like. That’s led to even more stories about incoming players—whether rookies or free agents—and the lengths they’ll go to secure their preferred jersey number if someone on their new team already has it.

The media attempted to create a story out of Shedeur Sanders not getting his No. 2 jersey, but there was a real story about another rookie who actually did try and succeed in transferring his No. 2 jersey ownership from college to the pros: Ashton Jeanty. The Boise State RB and Heisman Trophy runner-up was drafted No. 6 overall by the Las Vegas Raiders at this year’s draft.

The only problem was, someone was already wearing No. 2 on Vegas’ roster: Daniel Carlson. The veteran kicker has been with the team so long that when he first arrived midseason as a rookie in 2018, they still played in Oakland.

In fact, Carlson is the second-longest-tenured player on the team, behind tackle Kolton Miller, who was drafted by the Raiders in April of the same year. Nevertheless, Jeanty wouldn’t be denied, though it wasn’t “free.”

“I talked to the head equipment guy, and then he said, ‘You’re gonna have to talk to [Carlson] about it.’ … So I called him and I was like, ‘I’m trying to get that number 2, I’m willing to negotiate, whatever you’re thinking,'” said the RB.

“I gave him what I was thinking first, and he came back. And I’m like, ‘Hey man, I gotta do it, I gotta drop that little bag for number 2,'” he added.

Jeanty also explained why wearing the number 2 was so important to him. Apparently, the motivation is a mix of personal, family, and financial considerations.

“I’ve worn it majority of my career. It’s the day greatness was born, it’s the day I was born. December 2nd. It’s a family number. All my family members who played sports they wore number 2 as well. So, [the number] means a lot.. And for the brand!” he said.

Jeanty tried to brush it off after saying he “dropped a little bag” on buying the jersey number off of Carlson. But Kay Adams wouldn’t let him off the hook. When pressed to compare the amount he paid to something in the real world with a price tag, Jeanty gave a small hint.

“You could probably buy a house, like a nice-sized house—actually no I’m not gonna say a house. I’m gonna say a car like a nice Mercedes, you could buy a Mercedes GLE. “

Considering the Mercedes GLE retails for between $60k and $130k, that means Carlson really gouged Jeanty in those negotiations. Jeanty joked that Carlson did so because he “saw my signing bonus.” That would be fair enough: Jeanty’s signing bonus on his four-year $35.9 million rookie deal was a hefty $22.7 million. That’s just over a million less than Carlson has made ($23.8 million) in his entire NFL career.

It was impressive negotiating from Carlson, especially considering he probably couldn’t care less about the number. He wore No. 38 in college at Auburn and No. 7 when he entered the league with the Minnesota Vikings. He will wear No. 8 moving forward.

And it’s not like Carlson was being greedy either. Jeanty revealed that a portion of his jersey payment to Carlson will be going to charity.

All’s well that ends well.