Looking at possible numbers for the NFL to retire league-wide

The only pro sports league in North America that doesn't have a number retired is the National Football League. Bill Russell's number was retired by the NBA. The NHL has banned anyone from wearing Wayne Gretzky's number again.

The NBA is the league with the youngest of the four. A league that has a lot of star power in the Super Bowl era doesn't have a long list of possibilities. There is a chance that the most popular sports league in America won't be interested in this venture. That doesn't deter me.

I narrowed the possibilities of worthy NFL league-wide jersey retirees to 10, some for obvious reasons, some with the same parallels made in other sports, and a few complicated choices. Someone who didn't play a game in the NFL would be better off with one jersey retirement. Is it weird? Let's start.

The only active player worthy of consideration is the 45 year old quarterback of the Buccaneers. He retired for 40 days this summer and delayed the rise of Gabbert. Brady kissed his son on the lips after less than six weeks with Gisele and the children.

Less than a year after his retirement, hockey's designation that the best to ever play the sport deserves the distinction can translate to the NFL. It is more difficult to define the GOAT of the NFL than it is of the ice.

Brady is the only one with seven Super Bowls won. It is nearly impossible to duplicate his 20-season winning streak. When it comes to Brady, No. 12's detractors will shout about being a system guy. His results speak for themselves.

Rice, who already has the most outstanding freshman award named after him, is my pick for the greatest football player of all time. Anyone who thinks Rice isn't the greatest wide receiver of all time really has to gerrymander their standards.

Rice is the all-time leader in receiving yards (22, 895), pass reception (1,548), all-purpose yards (22,546), receiving touchdown (197), and total touchdown (208). Rice was a 10-time first-team All-Pro.

The timing of his jersey being retired by the 49ers would be odd. Rice has a strong argument if anyone deserves the honor even if they don't win a game.

His gridiron accomplishments and not his antics are what this selection is about. Taylor was the best defensive player of all time. He was a two-time Super Bowl champion with the Giants.

His off-field lifestyle makes it impossible for him to be a first-team All-Pro. He was sentenced three times for drug possession.

In 2010 Taylor was arrested for having sex with a girl who was under the age of 18. It's not a good idea to have a registered low-risk sex offenders jersey in a stadium. A league that doesn't have a pulse when it comes to moral clarity would be a public-relations disaster.

One of the few positions in the National Football League where one or two elite players don't separate themselves from the rest is running back. Without Brown, the conversation is incomplete. His rap sheet is not as lengthy as Taylor's.

Brown was invited to the Pro Bowl every year he was in the league and it would be nice to give him his flowers while he is still alive. It would be nice to give the honor to someone who helped form the league in the pre-Super Bowl era.

After he was portrayed in two recent movies, there could be a renewed interest in Brown. The only running back in the top 30 of all-time rushing yards to have retired before 1970 is the one who won the 1964 NFL title.

Giving a league-wide retirement to a forgotten star would be a great way to prop up someone. There is no better person for that than Graham. The 20-year anniversary of the passing of the long-time ClevelandBrowns quarterback could be a nice touch.

The last time Graham retired was during the first term of President Eisenhower. He is a three-time NFL champion and has three Most Valuable Player awards. If the NFL wanted to honor someone from a long time ago, he shouldn't have a problem getting a pick.

It would be difficult for the National Football League to retire a quarterback's jersey number without grandfathering players. After the league required positions to wear certain numbers, Graham wore No. 14 for the rest of his career. It would be much easier to display the No. 60 in Graham's honor.

I would choose here. Bill Russell was given the distinction of being one of the GOATs by the NBA. Not only was he one of the best to ever participate in sport, but he was also one of the best humanitarians of all time.

The Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award is given to someone because of their volunteering and on-field ability. There is a trophy named for him. The running-back position has never seen a stronger one.

Emmitt Smith is the all-time leader in career rushing yards. His name is well-known among current NFL fans and anyone who played in the 1980s, because of his time as league commissioner. I don't think there will be a lot of backlash for this.

The number 42 was retired by Major League Baseball as a jersey number league-wide. In 1946, a year before Robinson started with the Dodgers, his UCLA teammate in the National Football League made his debut in Washington. Washington broke the NFL's post- World War II color barrier and officially integrated the league, unlike Robinson in baseball.

Washington was pressured to play for the Rams by the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which was owned by George Halas. Washington, a running back, only scored eight touchdown in his career in the National Football League. His contributions to the league are still significant.

He enlisted in the US Army after playing for the ArizonaCardinals. He was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan in 2004, three years after he finished playing football. Both the Arizona State and theCardinals have retired his jersey.

Even though he doesn't have the ideal on-field credentials, he should honor the 20th anniversary of his passing. It's a shame newer fans don't know the story They would like this introduction.

The 50th anniversary of his passing was missed by the National Football League. Piccolo died from a rare type of cancer at the age of 26. The moment may have passed since Piccolo died almost 30 years ago.

The Bears and Wake Forest retired his numbers. Piccolo had five career touchdown in the NFL in five seasons, a lot of the credit went to Sayers, one of the best running backs of all time.

Instead of giving the honor of league-wide retirement to a GOAT, recognizing integration, a great humanitarian, or past personal tragedy, shining a light on a current NFL epidemic would be a great sign that the league is focused on stopping it. Seau was one of the first people to talk about the effects of chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

Seau died by suicide in 2012 and it was found that he had a brain disease. His number 55 is no longer used by the team. Seau would be a great choice to earn the first-team honor because of the awareness he would bring to chronic traumatic sclerosing cholangitis.