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The New York Jets may be 3-8 but at least Aaron Rodgers still has his State Farm commercials! And the new Jets quarterback says he has the best Jets quarterback, “Broadway” Joe Namath, to thank for that.
“He was such a transcendent player,” Rodgers told ESPN in an article about how Namath’s iconic pantyhose commercial blazed the path for NFL QBs as celebrity pitchmen. “I’m not saying he was the first, but he was one of the first famous quarterbacks. People knew about Johnny Unitas and Bart Starr, but he was the first one who was truly an icon. Part of that was Broadway Joe. He played in New York. … He’s a really good-looking guy, and just his attitude.”
“He was one of the first to be used in a lot of ad campaigns,” Rodgers continued. “So I thank Joe because he paved the way for me doing very similar things — obviously, my State Farm commercials.”
Rodgers and Namath have a lot in common in addition to their work as product endorsers. They both have one Super Bowl win and a losing record as the Jets quarterback. Despite being the best, most famous, and ultimately most successful Gang Green QB, Namath left the franchise in 1976 with a 60-61-4 mark as a starter.
It’s been 56 years, 10 months, one week, and three days since Joe Namath ran off the field at the Orange Bowl with his finger raised in victory after leading the Jets to a win in Super Bowl III.
Prior to that moment, the former Alabama signal-caller was in his fourth NFL season. Namath would make the third of his five Pro Bowls that year and lead the Jets to an 11-3 record, his best single-season record as a starting QB. But what happened before the Jets only Super Bowl is more important in the legend of “Broadway Joe.”
As Aaron Rodgers rightly points out, he was the first superstar QB. His long hair, good looks, and loving embrace of the late 1960s NYC nightlife put him into a different stratosphere than the crew cut-ed, business-like Star and Unitas. And that iconic photo of Namath lounging poolside at the Galt Ocean Mile Hotel before the Big Game and his Super Bowl guarantee just added to the lore.
The former Jets QB was never as good as he was in the 1968 and ’69 campaigns, but his aura — as much as anything — helped Namath become a Hall of Famer. And that swag also led to the QB1 becoming the most recognized player in all of professional football and maybe in all of pro sports.
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