The Greatest Trade For Every NFL Team In History
By Erik Lambert
New York Jets: The Joe Namath trade
There’s a reason New York Jets fans cheer whenever the team makes a bold move up in the draft to get a quarterback. It’s because that’s how their franchise’s greatest legend arrived. In 1965, representatives of the old AFL felt the best way for their league to compete with the NFL was by ensuring their New York franchise was a success, given the strength of its media market. So they worked out a deal where the Houston Oilers would receive Texas-native quarterback Jerry Rhome and in exchange the Jets would receive the #1 pick in the draft.
Understanding the need for star power in order to draw ticket sales and notoriety, team owner Sonny Werblin selected a charismatic quarterback from Alabama named Joe Namath. He immediately signed a $427,000 contract, easily the largest in football history at the time. Interest in the Jets and the AFL skyrocketed as a result. Namath’s magnetic personality made football a must-see event, and he helped it along by becoming the first quarterback to ever throw for 4,000 yards and then by delivering the most iconic line in the sports’ lore, guaranteeing the Jets would defeat the powerhouse Baltimore Colts of the NFL in Super Bowl III.
Given how much the NFL had dominated the AFL in the first two Super Bowls, most thought this was crazy blabbering by a loudmouth who didn’t respect the game. That is until the Jets stunned the Colts 16-7. Not long after that victory, the two leagues merged and Namath went into history as one of the most critical figures in the history of the sport.
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