The Miami Dolphins' Tua Tagovailoa will wear No. 1, the first quarterback in franchise history to do so.
Tagovailoa, drafted by the Dolphins with the No. 5 pick in last month's NFL draft, is the most anticipated Dolphins quarterback since Dan Marino, the greatest player in franchise history.
Tagovailoa wore No. 13 in college at Alabama, a number that is retired by the Dolphins for Marino. Tagovailoa didn't consider asking Marino to unretire his jersey, instead taking his own path with No. 1.
"For me, I'm not too worried about what number I have. I understand No. 13 is retired, and it should be," Tagovailoa said shortly after he was drafted. "Dan Marino, he's the GOAT. He's like the mayor out there, and I have much respect for him. Whatever number I'm given by that organization, if it's 78 or 99 -- I'll wear it. It doesn't matter."
After the Dolphins announced his number, Tagovailoa posted a photo to Twitter of him wearing his new jersey with the caption "For the Audience of 1."
For the Audience of 1🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/kZYXaYVD1R
— Tua. T 🇦🇸 (@Tua) May 6, 2020
Seventeen players were assigned No. 1 during the 2019 season, most notably then-Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton and Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray.
Tagovailoa will be the seventh player in franchise history to wear No. 1 in a regular-season game. Many of the previous players to wear it were specialists, such as punter Matt Turk (2000-04) and kickers Garo Yepremian (1970-78), Dan Carpenter (2008) and Cody Parkey (2017).
Hall of Fame Houston Oilers quarterback Warren Moon also wore No. 1.
In other South Florida sports, former Miami Heat star forward Chris Bosh had his No. 1 jersey retired in 2019. Marlins second baseman Luis Castillo was a three-time All-Star wearing the number from 1997 to 2005. Florida Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo wore the number from 2000 to 2006 and from 2014 to 2019; his was the first jersey retired by the franchise.