It's been less than 24 hours and Brandon Marshall is already involved in a power struggle inside the Dolphins locker room.
OK, maybe not a power struggle, but at the very least an interesting development.
You see, Marshall likes wearing the No. 15 and since he is the "alpha receiver" on the team, everyone kind of expected him to get the number, which is currently worn by Davone Bess.
But don't print that No. 15 jersey just yet, manufacturers.
Bess ain't giving it up no matter how much his new teammate puts on the table. Considering Marshall just signed the most lucrative wide receiver contract in NFL history, that's a lot of clams to turn down for a silly number.
"No sale!'' wrote Bess' agent, Kenny Zuckerman, in an e-mail to the Miami Herald. "He loves that number and wants to keep it. Seriously, it's not about money. He sincerely won't sell it.''
Bess is a fine player (and by fine we mean serviceable compared to every other receiver on the roster before Marshall), but some times you have to know your role and shut your mouth. That's wrestling reference No. 1. There will be more.
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We are assuming Bess realizes that Marshall is going to make his life a lot easier on the field and possibly off it.
Bess' stance might be understandable if, let's say, anyone actually owned his jersey and he stood to lose marketing cash if he switched numbers. Maybe the vanity plate on his car reads "Mr. No. 15" or something and he doesn't want to stand in those increasingly long South Florida DMV lines.
We don't know the deal, but we know Marshall has paid the cost (routine 100 reception seasons and touchdowns) to be the boss of No. 15.
The Million Dollar Man Ted Debiase famously said everybody has a price, so we wonder what Bess' is.
Maybe if Marshall offered to carry the pint-sized receiver on his back to and from the practice field every day that could get him No. 15. Perhaps an unlimited supply of T-shirts that read "Marshall is My Tool.'
Whatever it takes, Bess needs to get off his high horse and stop holding Dolfans hostage. We want our Marshall jersey and we want it now!
