NFL star changes last name at 27 to honor his heritage and pass it down to future generations

Any offensive line enthusiasts sporting a Zach Tom replica jersey are in need of an update after the Green Bay Packers right tackle officially changed his last name.

Now known as Zach Bako-Bewele, the 27-year-old Baton Rouge native adopted his paternal grandmother and paternal grandfather’s last names to honor his Nigerian heritage.

‘Especially when I start having kids and stuff, I want to have a name that I can pass down where it represents where they came from, where I came from,’ Bako-Bewele told reporters at training camp. ‘People will see that name and have a good understanding of who I am, where I come from.’

On Sunday, ‘Bako-Bewele’ was emblazoned across the back of the fifth-year pro’s practice jersey, which served as a significant milestone in this years-long process.

‘Yeah, probably for a few years, probably back since college at least,’ said the former National Honor Society member and three-year academic letterman at Wake Forest. ‘But this offseason, I kind of did a little bit more research. It just kind of came to me, and I just wanted to do it. I had time, so I was just like, ‘Let’s just go ahead and get it done.’

Packers fans were enthusiastic about the change.

‘Sick a** name,’ one wrote on X. ‘Jersey going to look much better.’

‘All-Pro season coming up,’ another predicted.

And while it remains unclear where ‘Tom’ came from, some fans were happy to see him discard a surname that can be confused for a first name.

‘I get freaked out by two first names as a full name so this is a good move by him,’ one fan remarked.

Bako-Bewele signed a four-year, $88 million extension a year ago but missed five regular-season games and the team’s Wildcard loss in the 2025 playoffs due to a knee injury. 

Bako-Bewele signed a four-year, $88 million extension a year ago but missed five regular-season games and the team’s Wildcard loss in the 2025 playoffs due to a knee injury

Even now, months after knee surgery, Bako-Bewele is still not up to full speed. According to ESPN, he’s been limited to individual drills and walk-through snaps during training camp.

‘It’s getting better,’ he said. ‘Hopefully I can start doing team within a week or so, but yeah I mean I’m out there moving around. I feel good, look good, so it’s time to get it going.’

The converted center has not committed a holding penalty across four NFL seasons and has just five false starts over that time, according to Pro Football Reference.

The Packers are coming off a 9-7-1 season and feature a number of new names in addition to Bako-Bewele’s: Former Minnesota Vikings defensive lineman Javon Hargrave, versatile former LA Chargers defensive back Benjamin St-Juste and Zaire Franklin, a linebacker acquired from Indianapolis in exchange for Colby Wooden.