The start of the merger: Joe Namath

When I think of the first really flashy professional football player it came way before 'Neon' Deion or Michael Irvin or Terrell Owens. The player who set the bar for all players following him was Joe Namath. What may have started him on this path was when he was selected by the New York Jets of the AFL for an incredible $420,000. It could have been the Lincoln Continental he received with his contract also. Namath's nickname was "Broadway Joe" and it made sense. He was very flashy with his fur coats and many women. His fame became more after he guaranteed and delivered a victory over the heavily favored Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III. But it wasn't any of this that Namath should be most famous for. It should be that he may be responsible for the Super Bowl all together.

When Namath signed his huge contract in 1965 with the New York Jets of the AFL it may have sparked the beginning of the merger of the AFL and NFL. That year Namath was drafted by the older and more powerful NFL team the St. Louis Cardinals. Namath refused to join the older and bigger league and signed with the New York Jets in the AFL. Three years later the NFL started to notice the large rookie contracts players were signing in both leagues. They were afraid to get in a cost and bidding war so they invited the AFL to merge with them. Joe Namath may be bigger than his stats, his guarantee, and his Super Bowl win. His biggest accomplishment, and possibly biggest sports feat ever, is being the catalyst for the AFL/NFL merger and eventually the Super Bowl.