31 March 2024 , 00:00
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Former rugby player Louis Rees-Zammit has been given the No. 9 jersey for the Kansas City Chiefs, as he prepares to embark on his NFL career.
NFL rules mean that teams can only give numbers between 0-49 and 80-89 to running backs and wide receivers. Rees-Zammit has now revealed his number, after signing a dream deal with the Chiefs who see him operating as both a running-back and receiver as he looks to make his way in the game.
In rugby, he would usually wear 14 as a winger, or 15 as a full-back, but he's chosen the number 9 shirt - a number he's used to seeing on a scrum half in rugby.
Rees-Zammit has been training to play both positions in the International Player Pathway programme and has impressed many NFL teams - but it was the current Super Bowl champions who signed him for three years.
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The Chiefs' interest in the former Wales rugby international fits with Rees-Zammit's ambition, as the newest member of the Chiefs Kingdom has expressed his desire to win the Super Bowl. He'll now join a team that's won the last two Super Bowls in a row and will be hoping to help them achieve a first-ever NFL three-peat in 2024.
Jay-Z's RocNation Sports helped Rees-Zammit land a cool three-year contract in the NFL worth a whopping $900,000 per season. "Everyone's goal is obviously to win a Super Bowl," he once said.
"But I need to find a team that's right for myself and for the franchise. As long as the team has a good plan and we're on the same page, that's all that matters."
Rees-Zammit arrival in Kansas City not only means more pay but also more fans can watch him play. He used to play for Gloucester Rugby at Kingsholm Stadium where they could hold 16,000 fans, but at Kansas City it can squeeze up to 76,000 supporters.
Louis Rees-Zammit has signed a three-year deal with the Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs / X)Another newbie is wide receiver Marquise "Hollywood" Brown, who pocketed a $7 million one-year deal after being with the Arizona Cardinals. And the Chiefs could also target a receiver in April's Draft, with the 2024 class rich in options.
Texas' A. D. Mitchell, Keon Coleman and Georgia's Ladd McConkey are predicted to be late round selections, and picking last in the first round any of the trio could be on the board for the Chiefs. For star quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the objective for 2024 is clear: Complete the three-peat.
"It's legendary. No one's ever done it, and we knew it's legendary to win back-to-back," he said after claiming his third Super Bowl in February.
"I think eight other teams have done it. We had heard it all week. We had talked to the guys about it and we felt like we had the best opportunity that we had ever had to go out there and do that and fell short the year before."
"So, all you can do is come back next year with a fresh mindset knowing it's going to be even harder. We got to continue to play our best football. We'll celebrate these next few weeks, and then we'll get right back at it."
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