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Joe Namath built his legacy by being known as “Broadway Joe” during his days with the New York Jets. It’s where the Hall of Fame quarterback saw his most success, and, famously, guaranteed a victory over the heavily favored Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl 3 — which has become Namath’s most memorable NFL experience outside of all his flashiness and legendary partying back in the day.
Unfortunately, as we’ve seen a few times with iconic athletes, Namath’s career didn’t last with just one team, as the brash signal-caller ended up playing for the Los Angeles Rams in 1977 at age 34 as one final hope to showcase his skills. The experiment flopped, with Joe Namath only starting four games, and tossing 3 touchdowns to 5 interceptions. At the end of the dreadful season, he retired for good.
After playing his first 12 years with the only franchise he had ever known, the Jets, Namath seems to admit that he would do things differently if he could relive it. That’s why he’s giving Tom Brady advice as the six-time Super Bowl winning quarterback weighs his own decision about his future after playing his entire career with the New England Patriots.
Talking to ESPN, Namath had this to say about Tom Brady’s future, hoping that his fellow quarterback takes it to heart.
“I wish I knew what I learned in making that transition before making it, meaning it turned out to be a very difficult transition,” Namath said.
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“It’s almost beyond my belief that he would go to another team under any circumstances,” Namath said. “I can’t imagine that separation. Moving out of the New England area that he’s been so accustomed to, and his family, that’s a hard thing, too. I don’t think he’ll ever leave that totally behind, I really don’t. I want to see him play as long as he physically and mentally wants to, man, because we’ve all seen over the years the execution that has been superb more times than not. We don’t get to see that kind of player, that kind of character, very often. It’s very rare.”
That’s some solid reasoning form Joe Namath, guys. Sure, Tom Brady’s future is up in the air and he wants to play till he’s 45 — which means three more seasons — but at what cost to his legacy? The GOAT can still sling it and proved this season that he can at least be above average, but it’s not worth bopping around to another team if it doesn’t mean having the same success. It’s something Brady’s probably thought about, so we’ll have to see what he decides to do in this uncertain offseason coming up.