New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart is beginning his NFL career with a new jersey number, and the former Ole Miss star is doing so by choice.
Sort of.
Dart, who was drafted by the Giants with the 25th overall pick last month, wore No. 2 for all three of his seasons with Ole Miss and his lone year as a freshman at USC. He has been spotted wearing No. 6 during his first NFL practices.
Deonte Banks, a former first-round pick who is entering his third NFL season, currently wears No. 2 with the Giants.
Dart was asked in a recent interview if he tried to keep his number from college. He admitted that he did but said the asking price was too steep.
“Yeah, it was too much,” Dart said with a laugh. “It was too much.”
Everyone has their price, but sometimes it's too high – even for a first rounder like Jaxson Dart 😅@nflpa | @Fanatics pic.twitter.com/yICvMiFhV0
— cllct (@cllctMedia) May 26, 2025
Banks may have had a very good reason for driving a hard bargain. Had Banks given No. 2 to Dart, the defensive back would have needed to change jersey numbers for the second time this offseason.
Banks previously wore No. 3, but he gave that number to Russell Wilson after the veteran quarterback signed with the Giants in free agency. It is unclear if Wilson had to pay for the number, but he went out of his way to show how much he appreciated the gesture.
Wilson, of course, is a veteran who has been in the league for much longer than Banks. Dart is just a rookie. Banks probably was not about to give up another jersey number unless the youngster was willing to make it worth his while.
