Former Bucs DL Gerald McCoy paid $250k to wear No. 93 jersey with Panthers

Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive lineman Gerald McCoy paid a high price to keep wearing his beloved jersey number in Carolina

It’s not unusual for a player to swing a deal when there’s a specific jersey number he wants to wear, but it’s already claimed by another player.

It is unusual for the player to shell out six figures for it, though.

That’s what former Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive lineman Gerald McCoy did back in 2019, after he left the Bucs for an NFC South rival, the Carolina Panthers.

Appearing on “NFL Total Access” on NFL Network, McCoy said Wednesday morning that he paid $250,000 for the right to keep wearing his No. 93 jersey in Carolina.

The No. 3 overall pick in the 2010 NFL draft, McCoy spent his first nine NFL seasons in Tampa Bay, and played all 16 games for the Panthers in 2020. After playing that year on a one-year deal in Carolina, McCoy has missed most of the last two seasons due to injury while playing for the Dallas Cowboys and Las Vegas Raiders.

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