A Lifetime Supply of Chicken? Inside The Strangest Jersey Negotiations In Sports

Before Von Miller can start hunting quarterbacks in Dallas, he has a much trickier negotiation to tackle. 

The future Hall of Famer has conquered Super Bowls, contract extensions and double teams, but now has to convince a fellow Cowboy to part with the No. 40 jersey number.

How far is Miller willing to go? How much cash is he ready to spend? 

As it turns out, negotiations with fullback Hunter Luepke started with a rather unique offer on Tuesday. Miller is offering him a lifetime supply of chicken in exchange for the No. 40 jersey, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.

That’s right, no cash, just chicken. Luepke has yet to bite, but Miller isn’t bluffing. 

As the co-founder and co-owner of Texas-based Greener Pastures Chicken, Miller can easily deliver on his poultry-fueled promise. Now, the ball is in Luepke’s court to see if a lifetime of chicken is tasty enough to swap jersey numbers.

Here are three unique gifts athletes have traded to get their favorite jersey numbers:

As it turns out, fatherhood makes for a surprisingly effective negotiation tactic. After wearing No. 24 for 12 seasons with the Arizona Cardinals, safety Adrian Wilson was willing to do whatever it took to keep his number when he signed with the New England Patriots in 2013.

The negotiation wasn’t simple, as cornerback Kyle Arrington was already wearing No. 24 with the Patriots. Knowing Arrington had just become a father, Wilson took a unique approach by offering a full year’s supply of Pampers to seal the deal.

Arrington ultimately accepted Wilson’s offer. However, the veteran safety was released during final roster cuts and never played a regular season snap with the Patriots wearing his career-long No. 24 jersey.

After signing a massive 15-year, $765 million contract with the Mets during the 2024 offseason, Juan Soto had one priority before taking the field. He was going to do whatever it took to secure his signature No. 22 jersey from Bretty Baty.

After a bit of negotiation, Soto officially sealed the deal by the start of Spring Training. 

How did he do it? Soto surprised Baty with a brand-new $92,000 Chevy Tahoe to hand over the jersey. The best part? “Thanks for #22” was written across the back window of the SUV and Baty officially made the switch to No. 7.

Soto still rocks the No. 22 jersey and remains one of baseball’s most captivating stars for a reason.

When McNabb joined the Vikings in 2011, his signature No. 5 jersey was already taken by punter Chris Kluwe. Usually, a veteran with McNabb’s resume wouldn’t have much trouble buying a number, but Kluwe made sure the negotiations were anything but typical.

Instead of pulling the quarterback card, McNabb went along with one of the funniest jersey negotiations in NFL history. All it cost him was a $5,000 charity donation, a public shoutout for Kluwe’s band Tripping Icarus and an ice cream cone.

Just like that, the deal was sealed with an ice cream cone. In the end, McNabb only started six games for Minnesota, making his time in purple little more than a footnote, but his jersey negotiation remains an all-time classic.