Chicago Cubs: Addison Russell tweeted the reason behind new jersey number

When the Chicago Cubs signed veteran outfielder Jason Heyward to his massive 8-year, $184 million deal, infielder Addison Russell knew he would have to give up his uniform number to his new teammate.

Both men, especially Russell himself, didn’t have a problem handing over No. 22 to the man who has worn the number his entire career. Which led to the 21-year-old paying homage to his favorite professional athlete of all-time.

According to Addison’s official Twitter handle, he’ll be wearing No. 27 on the back of his uniform in honor of former NFL running back, Eddie George.

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Now, if you’re not familiar with the National Football League, running backs in the mid-90’s were exciting to watch. You had guys like Jamal Anderson, Jerome Bettis, Curtis Martin, Barry Sanders, Emmitt Smith, Thurman Thomas, Marshall Faulk, Terrell Davis, Ricky Watters, and George himself tearing up the gridiron.

George who is now 42-years-old was drafted 14th overall by the Houston Oilers during the 1996 NFL Draft out of Ohio State. The 1995 Heisman Trophy winner played all but one year with the Tennessee Titans from the year he was drafted up until the 2003 season where he was later released after he refused to take a pay cut.

He rushed for over 10,000 yards with 63 rushing touchdowns on top of recording 2,227 receiving yards and only 10 touchdowns. George started every game as a member of the Titans, becoming the second player in NFL history to rush for as many yards without missing a single game.

The first player in the league to do so was Cleveland Browns legend, Jim Brown.

History then repeated itself a second time when running back Chris Johnson opened up about refusing to take a pay cut in December of 2013, only to change his mind during the off-season.

By the time he had a change of heart, it was too late and his run with the Titans had come to an end. This opened the door for the New York Jets, but things didn’t quite work out as they declined his option, making him a free agent for the second time in his career.

Professional baseball works differently as teams have control over a player who doesn’t have at least six or more years under their belts. This has resulted in players or the MLBPA a filing grievance.