Ravens' Lamar Jackson Greatest No. 8 in Sports?

It's hard to find someone as passionate over a number as Baltimore Ravens star quarterback Lamar Jackson seems to be over the No. 8.

Last week, Jackson challenged NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr. over his pending trademark of a stylized No. 8 for his motorsports team. On Friday, Earnhardt announced that he planned to retire the No. 8 mark that Jackson challenged, and instead go back to the classic No. 8 mark he used on his car in the early 2000s.

Back in July, Jackson also challenged Dallas Cowboys Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman's efforts to trademark "EIGHT" for his own brand. Jackson owns brands such as "Era 8" featuring the number, and argued that both Earnhardt and Aikman's marks would confuse customers.

In light of the Earnhardt dispute, The Athletic writers decided to hold a debate over the best athletes to ever wear No. 8 in various sports. According to the team of writers, Jackson is indeed the greatest NFL player to wear No. 8, beating out the likes of Aikman and Steve Young.

"Jackson, in just seven seasons, has already done things that we’ve never seen before," The Athletic's Jeff Zrebiec wrote. "The accolades and records — the two MVPs and what easily could have been a third, the unprecedented 4,000-plus passing yards and 800-plus rushing yards in one season — are impressive. But it’s how he’s done it that elevates him into another stratosphere."

"This is an athlete who has constantly been told what he isn’t or what he can’t be. Most teams didn’t believe he had the goods to be an NFL franchise quarterback ahead of the 2018 Draft. When there was an opportunity to potentially sign him two offseasons ago, 31 other teams stayed away. Yet Jackson has never wavered, never changed to try to be someone else or acquiesced to criticism. He is unapologetically who he is, and that’s one of the most captivating and interesting personalities in professional sports."

Not only that, but Jackson was also named the best college football player to wear No. 8, narrowly beating out Marcus Mariota and Davey O'Brien.

"College football has three players vying for the top spot as Mr. 8, and Jackson is in the running on this one, too," The Athletic's Scott Dochterman wrote. "In three seasons at Louisville, Jackson passed for 9,043 yards and 69 touchdowns while rushing for 4,132 yards and 50 scores. Few players could match Jackson’s on-field theatrics, which is pretty much what we could say about his NFL impact nearly a decade later. Jackson won the 2016 Heisman Trophy and finished third in 2017."

Of course, there are several other world-class athletes to don the No. 8. Yogi Berra won 13 World Series titles as a player, manager and coach. The late Kobe Bryant needs no introduction, being one of the most iconic NBA players in history. Washington Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin just surpassed Wayne Gretzky as the NHL's all-time leading scorer, and the list goes on.

Jackson probably has a ways to go before he can stack up with those historic icons, but he's already on a legendary trajectory.