List of New England Patriots retired numbers

The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Since their founding in 1960 as the Boston Patriots, over 1,000 players, including 10 Pro Football Hall of Famers have played for the team. Of those players, eight have had their uniform numbers officially retired by the organization. Professional sports franchises, including the Patriots, retire uniform numbers to recognize the contributions that a player has made towards the team. It is customary that after the uniform number is retired, it is no longer worn by future players with that team.

Patriots history
The earliest Patriot to have his number retired was Bob Dee (No. 89). Dee played defensive end for the Patriots for eight seasons where he was voted a four-time American Football League (AFL) All-Star, made the All-AFL second team four times, and made the Boston Patriots All-1960s Team. Dee also scored the first touchdown in the AFL, recovering a fumble in the end zone against the Buffalo Bills. Dee retired from professional football in 1968, being inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame in 1993. In 1971, Gino Cappelletti and Jim Lee Hunt had their numbers retired (No. 20 and 79 respectively). Cappelletti played wide receiver and kicker for 11 seasons with the Patriots, leading the AFL in scoring five times. He was voted an AFL All-Star five times and was the 1964 AFL MVP. He also made the All-AFL second team four times and the Boston Patriots All-1960s Team. Until 2005. Cappelletti was the Patriots all-time leading scorer and remains third on their all-time points list. Hunt played defensive tackle for 11 seasons with the Patriots, making the AFL All-Star team four times, All-AFL second team four times, and the Boston Patriots All-1960s Team.