Samuel wor number one at South Carolina but wide receivers weren't able to wear single-digit numbers in the NFL when he was drafted in 2019 that switch occurred ahead of the 2021 season allowing receivers to wear any number between 1 and 49 as well as 80 to 89 former 49ers safety Jimmy Ward also wore number one in college however because Ward had seniority he got the first opportunity to switch to number one leading Samuel to stick with number 19th Ward left the 49ers after the 2022 season but the switch likely took a year because the NFL mandates players buy the full inventory of merchandise with their jersey number if they request an immediate change by waiting a year Samuel would have been able to switch to number one without having to spend anything Samuel has played in two super bowls with the 49ers but he's paying tribute to his college days with the number change though he started out wearing number nine with the Gamecocks Samuel finished his college career wearing number nine one with an 882 yard 11 touchdown season that helped make him a high second round NFL draft pick after losing most of the 2017 season due to injury