Oct 20, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Las Vegas Raiders helmet on the turn at SoFi Stadium during pregame warmups before an NFL game against the Los Angeles Rams. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images

Raiders Prompted to Retire Legendary Quarterback's Number

Originally posted on Las Vegas Raiders on SI
By Brock Vierra | Last updated Aug 3, 2025 9:00 AM ET

The Las Vegas Raiders do not retire numbers. They never have and if history is correct, they never will. However, CBS Sports' Bryan DeArdo published a piece where he names a player for every NFL team who should have their jersey retired and he named Ken "Snake" Stabler as the man who should break such a tradition.

"The Raiders have a lot of deserving players, but it's hard to argue against Stabler being the most deserving," wrote DeArdo. "Stabler, after all, was the Raiders' first player to win league MVP and the first starting quarterback to lead the team to a Super Bowl title. Stabler also perfectly exemplified the team's persona."

Stabler, the Raiders' quarterback from 1968, 1970-1979, won the franchise's first Super Bowl and won NFL MVP and Offensive Player of the Year in 1974. He was a two-time All-Pro and four-time Pro Bowler.

Stabler's number 12 is currently being used by Aidan O'Connell.

There are two arguments here that lead to one conclusion. The first argument is that Stabler doesn't deserve to be the Raiders' first retired number. Whether you agree or disagree, someone else agrees or disagrees with you. Gene Upshaw, Jim Otto, Art Shell, Ted Hendricks, Fred Biletnikoff, whoever, there are legitimate arguments for others outside of Stabler.

The second argument is that it would break tradition. Al Davis had a vision for his franchise. That the Raiders would be the best professional team in all of sports. In that belief is an evident truth: no player is bigger than the Raiders, so retiring numbers would violate that notion.

Here's my argument why Stabler shouldn't have his number retired. If Raiders retire Stabler, then the Raiders must retire Jim Plunkett and thus Marcus Allen, Cliff Branch, Dave Casper, Willie Brown, Jack Tatum, Howie Long, the list goes on and on. There aren't enough numbers on the Raiders to maintain a 53-man roster if they start to retire every franchise legend.

So the conclusion is simple. The Raiders shouldn't retire numbers. It would be a disservice to the legacy of the franchise, trigger an unnecessary debate, and cut into the mystique of the Raiders.

Every kid who grew up wanting to be Ken Stabler had an opportunity to walk in his footsteps. That means something.

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This article first appeared on Las Vegas Raiders on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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