Jaycee Horn of the Carolina Panthers has chosen number eight to be the first professional jersey number of his career to honor the late Kobe Bryant.
This is not the first time Horn has shown his love for Kobe. Earlier this year, on January 27, he tweeted about Kobe’s death, saying the world feels like it’s missing something since he passed on January 26, 2020.
Jaycee is the son of Joe Horn, an ex-NFL player who, from 1995 to 2010, played for the Kansas City Chiefs, New Orleans Saints, and the Atlanta Falcons.
Jaycee Horn was a part of this year’s NFL draft and was selected as the eighth overall pick.
While playing in college, he wore both number seven and number one.
It is speculated that Horn did not choose to go back to his number one jersey due it being Cam Newton’s- the Panthers number one pick in 2011- previous number. Newton is the only player in Panthers’ history to have worn the number one jersey.
When asked about why he didn’t choose Kobe’s other NBA number, 24, Horn said he was only looking for single-digit numbers.
Horn is free to do this given the NFL’s new policy that allows a player to pick their jersey number. He was the first in the Panthers to choose a new number.
While this was an easy process for Horn and any newcomers, it is not as simple to change a number for any current player in the NFL. The new rule states that any player can change their number as long as they pay for any unsold jerseys they have left in stock.
While we do not know when Horn will get to debut his new jersey, the Panthers will be releasing their schedule for this year’s season on May 12.