It happens to the best players. The team they made famous outgrows them. It happened to Gretzky. It happened to Jordan. On Wednesday, it happened to Manning.
As time marches on we see that the game and the lucrative NFL contracts the come with it wait for no aging athlete, no matter how great. Here’s a look at some icons who retired in different uniforms. Check out the gallery below.
Joe Namath
He’ll always be known as “Broadway Joe” but there’s a final chapter in Joe Namath’s career that most Jets fans choose to forget.
Joe was waived by the Jets in 1977 after being unable to trade him and Joe went west to Hollywood. How fitting. He signed with the L.A. Rams despite having chronic knee woes and other aging injuries.
Namath started out good and won his first two games. Then it went downhill faster than an old drunk guy trying to kiss a reporter on the sideline. Namath’s slow legs caught up to him and he was soon bounced around by defenses and sent to the bench never to hit the field again.
