Tom Brady doesn't sound too happy about the NFL's decision to change the rule for jersey numbers

There were a lot of happy players around the NFL on Wednesday after the league's owners voted to relax the rule for jersey numbers. Although most players seem to approve of the rule change, there is one notable player who is definitely against it and that player is Tom Brady. 

Maybe it's because he's the oldest player in the NFL and he's against change or maybe it's because he hates new rules, but whatever the reason, Brady made it clear on Instagram that he's against the new rule. 

Brady's biggest issue with the number change is that he thinks it's going to lead to "bad football."

"Good luck trying to block the right people now," Brady wrote on Instagram. "Going to make for a lot of bad football."

In a second post on Instagram, Brady sounded even more angry about the entire situation. 

On one hand, I kind of empathize with Brady. I mean, he's 43 years old and he's now going have to learn a completely new numbering system. The problem with the new system is that Brady -- and other players on the field -- might not know what position a player is playing based on their number alone. 

For instance, everyone on the defense (except for the defensive line) is now eligible to wear any number one through 49, which could create some confusion for offensive players who are trying to figure out who to block or for a quarterback trying to figure out where a blitz might be coming from. Under the old rules, a defensive player wearing No. 24 would definitely be a defensive back, but under the new rule, that player could also be a linebacker. 

Basically, all of this could create more confusion for an offensive linemen, which could lead to more sacks by the defense, which means Brady could take more hits. I guess I see why he hates the rule. 

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The good news for Brady is that there probably won't be a lot of players changing numbers this year and that's because any player who wants to change his number for the 2021 season has to buy out the remaining inventory of his old number, which could get expensive. On the other hand, if a player changes his number in 2022, he doesn't have to pay for anything. What this means is that although there will surely be some players who decide to change their number this year, most of the changes will probably come in 2022. 

Want inside access into the NFL from an active player and conversations with prominent guests? Download and subscribe to All Things Covered with Patrick Peterson and Bryant McFadden as they discuss Peterson's desire to wear a single-digit number. 

Of course, Brady might also be upset because the new numbering system doesn't change anything for him. Maybe he was secretly hoping to change from 12 to 99. 

Anyway, you can see the breakdown of the new jersey numbers below: