Broadway Joe Namath was touched watching Aaron Rodgers explain why he did not want to wear Namath’s retired iconic No. 12.
“That was warm, that touched my heart a bit, that shows something about the man,” Namath told The Post. “He has a way about him, a lot of respect for the past. I was humbly grateful, you know what I mean? It felt good. It made me like him even more (laugh). First time I met him I liked him, and I’ll tell you what, I’ve not seen anybody play better than him over the last 10, 15 years I’ve been watching.”
Rodgers, at his introductory press conference on Wednesday inside the Jets Atlantic Health Training Center, had said: “There’s some iconic names that have played here — probably not more iconic than No. 12. And I heard what he said about unretiring his number, but to me, 12 is Broadway Joe. I didn’t want to even go down that path, and I’m excited about going back to my college (California) number (8).”
Namath was asked why he was willing to have his No. 12 unretired.
“Because I want to see the Jets win,” Namath said. “I’d love to see ‘em win a championship. We’ve had a strong following for a long time, and I want not only the players to get the championship for themselves, but for the fans.
On Monday, after months of speculation and rumors, the Jets and Packers came to an agreement on a trade that brings four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers to New York.
The trade immediately upgrades the Jets from rising team to playoff contender with the hopes that Rodgers will help break one of the longest active postseason droughts in sports.
The Jets receive: Aaron Rodgers, No. 15 pick (2023) and No. 170 pick (2023).
The Packers receive: No. 13 pick (2023), No. 42 pick (2023), No. 207 pick (2023) and a conditional second-round 2024 draft pick that conveys to a first-rounder if Rodgers plays 65% of the Jets’ plays in 2023.
The trade still needs to be finalized — the terms of Rodgers’ contract need to be worked out — and sent to the NFL.
Both teams will begin feeling this deal as early as Thursday at the 2023 NFL Draft.
For the Packers, it’s now about getting fourth-year QB Jordan Love ready to take over. With Gang Green, it’s about getting a whole host of new faces on the same page offensively.
Read more of The Post’s Aaron Rodgers coverage
“I honest to God feel like the fans have been loyal, and we deserve to bring them a championship. But we’ve gotta earn it! It’s because of the fans and the way they’ve followed the team over the years. There were some down years, we had some decent years. The Jets’ fans still keep showing up, and they’re still pretty darn loyal, so I would like to see it for New York Jet fans throughout the country, not just in Jersey and not just in New York.”