Plenty of players show up in style to sign their first NFL contract, and Arizona Cardinals OL Paris Johnson was no different.
Though he didn't dress in a full suit or make any strong fashion statements, Johnson arrived to the team facility in Tempe donning a Pat Tillman jersey:
Only Johnson could tell the story of how he got it - and how he chose to wear it:
"Right after I got picked, when I flew back from when I came out here, did all my media [interviews], on the plane back I was like 'Man, I gotta get some Arizona stuff.' But instead of buying a whole bunch of stuff, I feel like when I'm out there I'll get a whole bunch of team issued stuff. So I'm like, 'Alright, but I got to get something. I can walk around in a jersey of my own, but that looks cheesy. Like he's sporting his own jersey? That's a little cheesy.'
"But then I'm scrolling and scrolling and I see the Pat Tillman jersey and I was like, 'Oh snap." But then I saw the legacy one, the original one from like 2000 and I was like, 'Okay, that's the one.'
"And it was on sale for $78, I was hyped. Originally I wanted the jersey - I didn't buy it to wear it the first day, I bought it because I wanted to have something that was Arizona. I'm into vintage stuff, that kind of stuff is cool.
"I shipped all my stuff here, I only came with a backpack … I'm like what am I gonna wear so I look in my closet and I saw the jersey - it was tilted towards me - I was like, 'That's the one. That's the one.'
"It was cool to have that and be able to honor him. Obviously I never had the chance to meet him but my Mom did. My Dad obviously played behind him ... To even be that close to his legacy, that's awesome."
Full clip:
Obviously, the legacy of Pat Tillman needs no further explanation. What he was able to accomplish on and off the field has been a symbol of leadership, freedom and pride for so many people here in the state of Arizona.
Pretty cool to see a younger player recognize that.
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