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Legendary ex-New York Jets quarterback Joe Namath used his retired No. 12 jersey as a recruiting pitch to lure Aaron Rodgers this offseason.
Despite the gracious gesture, A-Rod has politely declined and will be choosing a new number with Gang Green.
“Even though Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Namath has given permission to Aaron Rodgers to wear his No. 12, my understanding is Aaron Rodgers is going to wear No. 8 in New York,” Adam Schefter revealed on the Monday, April 24 episode of NFL Live on ESPN. “The No. 8 that he wore in college at Cal out of respect to Joe Namath. So he’s not going to take the [No.] 12 that was offered up.”
Aaron Rodgers Making New Jersey History With Jets
Rodgers appeared on The Pat McAfee Show on March 16 and was asked about wearing the retired No. 12 jersey if he ended up on the Jets.
“That’s a great question, with respect to the emotions I think there will be time for all of those conversations down the road. Today was about talking about the past and the love I have for the team and then giving an update on what’s going on today. That’s a great question and I’ve seen what Joe said, there will be time to talk about that down the road.”
Namath’s No. 12 jersey was retired by the Jets in 1985. However, the former Alabama stud was willing to take it down from the rafters if that meant Rodgers was coming to the big apple.
“I’m a big Rodgers fan, and I noticed that he wears number 12 of course. Man, if we get him, is he still going to wearing number 12? Because that number was retired years ago,” Namath pondered on a Tiki and Tierney episode posted on January 19. “I’d sure love Rodgers if he’s there. Yeah, I want him to wear his number. We established ourselves and we’ve got a real respect for our numbers, and Aaron Rodgers, God almighty, yeah! It’d be great to have him in New York.”
Instead, Rodgers will change his jersey number for the first time in his NFL career. During his two years at California, A-Rod donned the No. 8 and he will dust that off for his new tenure in New York.
According to Pro Football Reference, Rodgers will be the ninth member of the Jets to put on the No. 8 jersey number.
- Elijah Moore
- Ian Berryman
- Luke Falk
- Randy Bullock
- Mark Brunell
- Nick Lowery
- Browning Nagle
- Greg Gantt
Aaron Rodgers Becomes Most Decorated QB in Jets History
With all due respect to Namath, Rodgers the moment he walks into the Jets facilities will instantly become the most decorated quarterback in franchise history.
A-Rod has won four regular season NFL MVP trophies. Not a single player in Jets history has ever won that award.
Rodgers has thrown for over 59,055 passing yards which ranks No. 9 all-time. He is one good season away from jumping into the top-five all-time in that category.
Rodgers has thrown 475 passing touchdowns which is the No. 5 mark all time. Namath is No. 69 on that same list with 173.
Although one of the biggest differences between the Jets’ horrific past QB play versus Rodgers is the turnover battle.
Since 2018, Jets quarterbacks have combined to throw 83 interceptions. During that same span of time, Rodgers has only thrown 27.
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