RENTON, Wash. -- When Duane Brown learned Monday night that he was being traded to the Seattle Seahawks, one of the first things that crossed his mind was his jersey number. He had worn No. 76 in college and for all 10 of his seasons in the NFL. As is often the case with athletes across all sports who develop strong attachments to their jersey numbers, Brown wanted to keep his badly enough that he was willing to pay up to do so.
So he reached out to right tackle Germain Ifedi, who has worn that number for his first two seasons in Seattle, and the two worked out a deal at what was apparently a very reasonable rate.
"He took it easy on me," Brown said.
To Ifedi, it was the natural thing to do for a player he had developed a deep admiration for while growing up in Houston. The 23-year-old Ifedi recalled how, as a teenager, he watched Texans games on television during Brown's first few seasons -- before he made three Pro Bowls and signed a $53 million contract -- and saw a "legit" player in the making.
The two met in 2015, the year before Seattle chose Ifedi in the first round out of Texas A&M. He was training at a Houston gym owned by a good friend of Brown, who introduced the two.
"I told him, 'I've been a huge fan of yours,' " Ifedi said.
Said Brown: "He had studied my tape and things like that and wanted to meet me, so I went out there and met with him. Ever since that, we kept in touch. After he got drafted, I just kept in touch with him and let him know he was playing well and different things that I saw in his film."
The two share the same financial adviser and worked out together a few times in Houston during the offseason.
"It's very cool it came full circle," Ifedi said, "him being able to get up here and play with us."
Brown's trade to the Seahawks reunited him with other players he has gotten to know well. He overlapped at Virginia Tech for two seasons with strong safety Kam Chancellor, who recalled this week how Brown used to cover punts for the Hokies even after converting from tight end to left tackle. Brown played with right guard Oday Aboushi for two seasons in Houston and reached out to him for a rundown on the organization when the trade went down. Brown also knew middle linebacker Bobby Wagner.
But Ifedi, he said, is "like a little brother" to him.
"We've gotten pretty close over the last couple years," Brown said.
That made their number transaction easier.
NFL players have been known to purchase numbers from teammates for as much as $50,000, but the going rate widely varies. Wide receiver Eric Decker paid $25,000 plus a steak dinner for No. 87 when he signed with the New York Jets in 2014, according to the New York Daily News.
In an infamous case from a decade earlier, running back Clinton Portis agreed to pay $40,000 for No. 26 after his trade to the Washington Redskins. Portis paid half the total up front to safety Ifeanyi Ohalete then reneged on the remaining $20,000 when Ohalete was cut in training camp, leading to a lawsuit that was settled a day before it went to court.
Neither Brown nor Ifedi revealed the price for No. 76, but suffice it to say it was much cheaper than that.
"He didn't give me too hard of a time about it," Brown said, "which was good because I've been wearing this jersey for a long time and I was happy he made the switch for me."
Ifedi ended up with No. 65. The No. 74 he wore in college was already taken by injured left tackle George Fant as were most of the other numbers in the 70s, which are typically worn by tackles. Ifedi didn't want to ask another player for his number, so he picked one that was available.
"It's a little different," he said of 65, "but I think I can make it work."
Getting paid for it should help, even if the price wasn't as steep as it could have been.
"I didn't take him to the cleaners," Ifedi said with a laugh. "When someone you've looked up to for a long time asked you for something, you don't give them too hard of a time about getting it. You just say, 'Hey, take care of me and we'll be good.' "