49ers' Deebo Samuel Announces Change to No. 1 Jersey with Instagram Photos, Video

San Francisco 49ers star wideout Deebo Samuel announced on Instagram Tuesday that he's changing his number from 19 to the No. 1 he wore in college for South Carolina.

The 49ers confirmed the jersey change shortly thereafter:

Samuel said last year that he wanted to make the change to the No. 1 jersey, but the NFL requires players to buy the remaining inventory of their uniforms that still feature their old numbers, and at retail prices, if they want to change numbers. That makes it a pretty costly decision.

Given that Samuel is a star player and likely has a fairly in-demand jersey, he would have been required to buy back a larger inventory of uniforms than less well-known players a year ago. Had he changed teams, however, he could have changed numbers free of charge since entirely new uniforms would have been made.

This year, he likely gave enough advance notice to change uniform numbers—presumably before the new league year begins on Wednesday—that he shouldn't be on the hook financially for his back inventory:

Samuel has flirted with changing numbers on multiple occasions. He also posted back in 2021 that he wanted to switch uniforms, though a few months later announced that he would be sticking with No. 19.

With No. 1 in place, Samuel will look to build on a strong 2023, albeit one in which he battled through injuries yet again. In total, he registered 60 catches for 892 yards and seven touchdowns to go along with 225 rushing yards and another five scores.

He helped the team reach the Super Bowl despite a somewhat muted postseason, with 161 yards from scrimmage across four games and no scores, and the Niners ultimately came up short against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.

They'll be among the favorites heading into the 2024 season, however, and Samuel will have himself a new look.