Joe Namath's Record Jets Contract: Changing the Game

[00:00:00] On January 2, 1965, professional football was forever changed when a young, charismatic quarterback from Alabama, one of the best football colleges ever, with a cannon for an arm and more swagger than he knew what to do with, signs the highest contract in pro football history.

[00:00:20] When Joe Namath signed with the New York Jets of the AFL, showing that the AFL was here to really compete with the NFL, as at the time they were still battling for supremacy in professional football in America.

[00:00:36] Today we're going to dive into Broadway Joe and this contract that changed the landscape of football forever, as now we look at contracts in the millions and soon will probably be close to the billions.

[00:00:49] Today on Daily Sports History.

[00:00:58] Welcome to Daily Sports History, I'm Ethan Reese, your guide as you daily learn more about sports history.

[00:01:03] And today we dive into the historic Joe Namath contract.

[00:01:08] And the trivia question today to listen out for is, prior to Joe Namath, who was the highest played pro football player?

[00:01:14] Listen out for the answer in the episode and if you miss it, I'll give it to you at the very end.

[00:01:19] Now the average contract in the NFL at the time was roughly around $40,000, with the highest paid player in 1965 being Johnny Unitas, who made a reported salary of $100,000 a year.

[00:01:35] As he was one of the most established quarterbacks in the NFL, having record-setting seasons for the Baltimore Colts.

[00:01:41] And the NFL was making splashes every year, trying to sign big-name players.

[00:01:45] But the average everyday player would make a fraction of what NFL players usually made.

[00:01:50] But it was continuously increasing, as the NFL and AFL TV rights were actually almost identical.

[00:01:58] Giving the AFL support from television that helped keep them afloat year by year, as they were struggling to keep up with the attendance that the NFL had.

[00:02:07] Now the New York Jets were a struggling franchise, as they were in a huge market.

[00:02:11] As New York, they had the Yankees, they had the Giants, that took a lot away from the New York Jets.

[00:02:16] And they struggled for capacity.

[00:02:18] And in 1964, they went 5-8-1, finishing third in the AFL East, not really having a chance to make the playoffs.

[00:02:26] And they wanted to make a splash, as they had the number one pick in the AFL draft that year.

[00:02:31] And they selected Joe Naiman, who was also selected number 12 by the St. Louis Cardinals that same year in the NFL.

[00:02:39] But who was this Joe?

[00:02:41] And why was he thought to be the savior for the Jets?

[00:02:44] Well, he grew up in Pittsburgh, and he instilled at sports in high school, being a standout quarterback, basketball player, and baseball player.

[00:02:52] And despite only being 6'2", he would regularly dunk in his high school basketball games, showing how much athleticism he did have.

[00:03:00] And he led his team to a AA championship in 1960.

[00:03:04] And upon graduating, he had several offers from major league baseball teams, including the Yankees, Indians, Reds, Pirates, and Phillies.

[00:03:12] But decided to go to college to play for Alabama, as his mother wanted him to get a college education.

[00:03:18] And he had many offers for his college career, as he could have gone to Penn State, Ohio State, Alabama, Notre Dame.

[00:03:24] But he actually decided to go to Maryland, as he was heavily recruited there, but was rejected by Maryland due to his college testing scores, which were below the requirements.

[00:03:33] But Alabama had some ways around this, which allowed him to go to Alabama and be coached by the legendary Bear Bryant.

[00:03:39] And while he was there, Bear Bryant actually called him the greatest athlete he ever coached.

[00:03:44] But his stats weren't that great.

[00:03:46] Although he did lead the team to a national championship in 1964, he only threw for 756 yards that season and five touchdowns compared to four interceptions.

[00:03:58] At the time, Alabama focused more on rushing the ball, as he did complete 64% of his passes.

[00:04:04] But it wasn't the focus.

[00:04:05] He was more of a game manager.

[00:04:07] And he did have some issues as he had a nagging injury his senior year with Alabama, as he was limping all the way through their championship run.

[00:04:15] So at this time, players could enter both the AFL and NFL draft.

[00:04:19] And there would be a bidding war on where you went.

[00:04:21] But because the NFL was more established, players tended to go there more than the AFL.

[00:04:26] So the AFL wouldn't pick the best player that year to be their first number one pick.

[00:04:31] They would normally pick someone farther down the line that they thought they could actually pick.

[00:04:34] And that's why Joe Namath was selected number 12 in the NFL, number one in the AFL.

[00:04:40] And the Cardinals actually held their draft before the Orange Bowl that he would play with Alabama.

[00:04:46] And they told him they would give him a $200,000 contract if he would sign before the Orange Bowl.

[00:04:53] But doing so would make him ineligible to play for the Tide's Orange Bowl.

[00:04:58] And that is why he signed the contract with the Jets instead of the Cardinals.

[00:05:03] And also, the Jets were offering a historic amount of money.

[00:05:07] On June, on January 2nd, 1965, he signed a contract with the New York Jets worth $427,000 over three years.

[00:05:18] Which is the total amount of the contract is roughly about $4.2 million today.

[00:05:24] And it was the largest contract signed in NFL history.

[00:05:27] And he got a signing bonus as well of about $200,000.

[00:05:34] Almost half would be paid up front as a bonus.

[00:05:37] Meaning his salary after the bonus would be roughly $75,000 a year.

[00:05:42] Which is less than what Johnny Unitas was making a year.

[00:05:48] But he was a rookie, unproven.

[00:05:50] And he had already got $200,000 up front.

[00:05:53] His full contract, if he separated out just over three years, it would be $142,000 a year.

[00:05:59] Making more than any other player in the NFL or AFL, for that matter.

[00:06:04] And this was a large reason why he chose the Jets.

[00:06:07] He was so charismatic.

[00:06:08] He had so many endorsements as well.

[00:06:10] On top of what he was making at the AFL.

[00:06:13] That he changed the game, not only for players just to play.

[00:06:18] But allowed them to be endorsers for brands and other things throughout their career.

[00:06:24] As many would become endorsers after their career.

[00:06:27] But he changed it as now we see players of all kinds endorsing products and in commercials all the time.

[00:06:34] But the question was, would this signing change things for the Jets?

[00:06:38] And the answer is, not right away.

[00:06:40] As the 1965 season, they would go 5-8-1.

[00:06:44] The same record they had last year.

[00:06:46] But they would finish second in the AFL East.

[00:06:49] And the next year was another struggle.

[00:06:51] As they went 6-2.

[00:06:53] And during this time, Joe would actually struggle with injuries.

[00:06:56] But he would pass the ball a lot more than he did in college.

[00:06:59] But that wasn't to a lot of success.

[00:07:01] As his first two seasons, he had a passing completion under 50.

[00:07:05] And in his 1966 season, he led the league in interceptions with 27 opposed to just 19 touchdowns.

[00:07:13] This was something very common in his career.

[00:07:15] Even though Joe Namath is in the Hall of Fame, he threw for more interceptions in his career than touchdown passes.

[00:07:21] And barely had over a 50% completion percentage throughout his career.

[00:07:27] Had an overall losing record as a starting quarterback.

[00:07:30] But what he did in 1968, after the NFL merger, changed the game.

[00:07:35] As this was a few years after the NFL had merged with the AFL.

[00:07:39] And in Super Bowl III in 1969, he led the Jets to an 11-3 season that year.

[00:07:46] Where they faced off against the Raiders in the AFL championship game.

[00:07:50] Which the winner would play in the Super Bowl III versus the Colts.

[00:07:53] And after they beat the Raiders, he guaranteed they would win the championship.

[00:07:57] Was it something no one had ever done before?

[00:08:00] And it's something we see now to this day.

[00:08:01] And what happened is, they actually won this game.

[00:08:05] Which cemented his legacy.

[00:08:07] And really, it's probably the only reason why he is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame to this day.

[00:08:12] But what he really did was change the perception.

[00:08:15] Players now would increase their value every single year.

[00:08:20] Getting a higher contract every single year.

[00:08:22] And we see this to this day.

[00:08:24] Quarterbacks are the highest paid position in the NFL.

[00:08:27] And they have been ever since the 1960s.

[00:08:29] With Johnny Unitas and Joe Namath.

[00:08:31] And every year today, the next new quarterback that's up for a contract.

[00:08:35] Becomes the highest paid player in the league.

[00:08:37] It happens that way every year.

[00:08:39] And it started with Joe.

[00:08:40] And Joe really amped up what would be the pay for every single year.

[00:08:46] As it made a huge jump during the AFL-NFL rivalry.

[00:08:49] As players had to decide.

[00:08:51] And there was actually a bidding war.

[00:08:53] And allowed players to get even more money.

[00:08:55] Without the AFL challenging the NFL.

[00:08:58] Contracts in the NFL today may not be what we see.

[00:09:02] They may be a lot lower.

[00:09:04] But Joe Namath changed the game.

[00:09:05] By signing this historic contract as a rookie.

[00:09:10] I want to thank you for listening to today's episode.

[00:09:13] If you want more Jets content, check out the Green Bean NY Jets Pod.

[00:09:18] Where they take you throughout all the corridors of Jets fandom.

[00:09:23] Wrapped in humor and a touch of intelligence.

[00:09:26] They're here to entertain you and educate you on all things Jets.

[00:09:30] We'll put a link in the description below for you to check them out.

[00:09:33] And if you enjoyed today's episode of Daily Sports History, please like and subscribe wherever you're at.

[00:09:39] That way you do not miss a single episode.

[00:09:41] And come back tomorrow for more Daily Sports History.

[00:09:45] And did you catch the answer to today's trivia question?

[00:09:48] Prior to Joe Namath, who is the highest paid pro football player?

[00:09:52] And the answer is Johnny Unitas, who made $100,000 a year on his contract.

[00:09:57] And Joe Namath signed a contract worth about $140,000 a year.

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