It’s official: Aaron Rodgers is a New York Jet.

The trade between the Jets and the Green Bay Packers was confirmed at 2pm exactly on Wednesday 26th April, moments before Rodgers’ introductory press conference at One Jets Drive.

The Jets gave up a 2023 first round pick (13), second round pick (42) and sixth round pick (207) as well as a conditional 2024 pick which will be a first or second round pick depending on Rodgers’ playing time.

In return, they got Rodgers, the Packers 2023 first round pick (15) and fifth round pick (170).

The trade was a long time coming. Rumours around Rodgers’ future swirled as early as January, whilst the Jets’ desire to recruit a veteran quarterback was no secret.

Speculation ramped up when Jets leadership visited Rodgers in California in March, with Rodgers’ announcement a few days later on the Pat McAfee show that his intention was to play for the Jets all but confirming the marriage between the two sides.

Jets GM Joe Douglas and Packers GM Brian Gutekunst still had the details of any deal to work through however, with negotiations continuing up until draft week, when the transaction was finally completed, with a smiling Rodgers arriving at the Jets training facility.

“Obviously, we’re comfortable with how this deal shaped,” Jets GM Douglas said Tuesday. “I don’t think anyone ever walks away from a negotiation where you feel like you won everything in terms of what’s gone back and forth. But ultimately, our goal from the beginning was to add Aaron to the team, so we were able to get that. We agreed to terms yesterday and we’re just excited to bring him here.”

It was also confirmed on Wednesday that Rodgers would be wearing his old college number, 8, with the Jets after 17 seasons as the Packers’ number 12. The ‘12’ jersey had been retired by the Jets, in honour of legendary quarterback Joe Namath, and whilst ‘Broadway Joe’ offered to unretire the number for Rodgers, the signal caller confirmed that he wouldn’t be taking him up on that:

“I heard what he said about unretiring his number, but to me, 12 is Broadway Joe. I didn’t even want to go down that path, and I’m excited to go back to my college number.”

Rodgers joins the Jets as one of the most prolific passers in NFL history. He is a Super Bowl champion and MVP (XLV), a four-time first-team All-Pro, a ten-time Pro Bowler and a four-time NFL MVP award winner. He has over 59,000 yards and 475 touchdowns to his name, and is widely regarded as one of the best to play the position and a future Hall of Famer.

He will team up with an exciting crop of young Jets stars, led by All-Pro Quinnen Williams, Rookies of the Year Sauce Gardner and Garrett Wilson and former teammate Allen Lazard. Rodgers will also have a familiar face in the facility in Jets offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, who teamed up with the quarterback between 2019-2021 as OC of the Packers.

We’re counting down the days now until the start of the 2023 NFL Draft, and here at New York Jets UK we want to make sure you don’t miss a second of the action.

What is the NFL Draft?

The NFL Draft is an annual event, which provides the most common route into the league for new players. Eligible players must be at least three years removed from high school, with the overwhelming majority of players selected out of the US collegiate system.

Since 2015, the location of the draft has changed each year, with the 2023 edition taking place in Kansas City, Missouri. Since 2010, the draft has been a three day event, starting on a Thursday and ending on a Saturday.

Teams are given a position in the draft order in reverse of their win-loss record from the previous season, meaning the worst team in the league picks first and the Super Bowl champion picks 32nd.

Teams can trade picks, either for current players on a different team and/or to try to accumulate a greater quantity of picks belonging to other teams. The draft comprises of seven rounds, with around 250 total players selected, depending on the exact number of ‘compensatory picks’ which changes each year.

What time is the NFL Draft?

The first two days of the draft take place at night in the United States, making it the early hours of the morning for fans here in the UK.

Round 1 starts at 8pm Eastern Time on Thursday 27th April, which is 1am British Summer Time on Friday morning here in the UK. There is no exact timing for when each round finishes, as teams get up to 10 minutes to make their selection, but it typically takes close to three hours.

Rounds 2 and 3 will start at 7pm Eastern Time on Friday 28th, which is midnight for fans in the UK.

The final day, including rounds 4-7, will start at 12pm Eastern Time on Saturday 29th, which is 5pm for fans in the UK.

When do the Jets make their selections?

Round 1, Pick 13

Round 2, Pick 42

Round 2, Pick 43

Round 4, Pick 112

Round 5, Pick 143

Round 6, Pick 207

It is officially three weeks to go until the NFL Draft kicks off in Kansas City! Whilst the Jets don’t have the two top-10 picks they had one year ago, excitement is still high as the team looks to the college ranks for some new additions to the roster.

In 2022, of course, the team selected Sauce Gardner and Garrett Wilson with their first two picks and the results could not have turned out much better. Two Rookie of the Year awards, numerous franchise rookie records shattered and a foundation for the future of both the offence and defence seemingly installed.

That pair of draft picks may end up going down in history as two of the best that the green and white ever made, but before we jump the gun on the two young stars,

5 – Darrelle Revis – Cornerback – 2007 NFL Draft – #14 Overall

Darrelle Revis will get his well deserved moment in the sunshine in Canton, Ohio later this year when he is officially inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. This comes on the heels of his induction into the Jets Ring of Honor, and he is widely regarded as one of the greatest cornerbacks ever to play the game.

The Jets actually traded up to get Revis in 2007, moving from 25th overall to 14th in order to snap up their lockdown corner. They would trade up again in the second round, to select linebacker David Harris, and the pair would go on to form the backbone of the elite Jets defence that took them to back-to-back Championship games in 2009 and 2010.

4 – Mark Gastineau – Defensive End – 1979 NFL Draft – #41 Overall

A member of the famed New York Sack Exchange and one of the most iconic New York Jets of all time, Mark Gastineau played for 10 seasons with the Jets and set an NFL record in 1984 with 22 sacks – a record that would stand for 17 years.

Gastineau wasn’t even the first Jets defensive line selection in the 1979 draft. Their first round pick was used on Marty Lyons, who would join Gastineau in forming the Jets fabled defensive front. It was a franchise-altering draft for the Jets, but the jewel was undoubtedly Gastineau who is one of the best second round draft picks in NFL history.

3 – Wesley Walker – Wide Receiver – 1977 NFL Draft – #33 Overall

One of the best receivers in franchise history, Walker spent his entire 12-year career with the New York Jets, racking up 8,306 yards and 71 touchdowns – both second in team history behind the legendary Don Maynard.

A second round selection at number 33 overall, Walker represented incredible value given the impact he had on the team over the course of his career. But he wasn’t the only selection from the 1977 draft to leave a lasting legacy with the Jets…

2 – Joe Klecko – Defensive End – 1977 NFL Draft – #144 Overall

Joe Klecko will enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame alongside Darrelle Revis later this year, 36 years after his final game as a New York Jet. Another member of the New York Sack Exchange, Klecko didn’t receive the acclaim that Gastineau did but had the longevity and the consistency to become an all-time Jets great.

The fact that he was drafted in the sixth round, at 144th overall, just adds to his extraordinary legacy. An inner-circle Jets legend selected at such a late point in the draft makes him an undoubted top pick in Jets drafting history.

1 – Joe Namath – Quarterback – 1965 AFL Draft – #1 Overall

We are cheating slightly here, as Namath was selected in the AFL Draft, which took place at the same time as the NFL Draft, a few years before the AFL-NFL merger. But few players can be said to have had such a profound impact on the Jets or indeed the league as a whole.

Selected as the top pick in 1965, Namath took just two years to become the first professional quarterback to throw for 4,000 yards – a record that stood for 12 years – and he famously guided the Jets to their first, and to date only, Super Bowl title, upsetting the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III. Holder of numerous franchise records, Namath more than lived up to this billing as the number one selection.

Get in touch with us on Twitter to let us know what you make of the list and which players you most fondly remember being drafted by the Jets during your time as a fan. We will be checking in on social media each Monday with our prospect profiles and publishing new draft articles every Wednesday too – stay tuned!

New York Jets tight end CJ Uzomah took part in a major event in London earlier this month, where he and Chase Claypool of the Chicago Bears helped to launch the first ever NFL Girls Flag Football League in the United Kingdom.

The new league will see the two NFL franchises represented by various schools throughout a spring tournament, exclusively for young women.

Speaking at the event, Uzomah said: “To be able to spread [American] football overseas is great, I think football is the best sport in the world and to get women involved is amazing.

“I know the Jets, two years ago, started sponsoring eight flag teams and now it’s 162 I want to say. Over that span of two years, it’s exploded exponentially and that’s what we want to do over here.

“I’m very excited that I have been able to be a part of this process.”

The growth of American Football in the UK has been getting bigger year on year, especially with the international series held at both the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Wembley.

Although, this unveiling of a Girls Flag league will continue to help the sport grow and will also go a long way in Britain, and it’s something Uzomah thinks is already ‘perceived’ well here.

The Jets number 87 said: “I was a little stunned at the boos when I went to watch my team Chelsea play, but it’s amazing to see how our sport and the one I think is the best in the world perceived so well over here.

“As well as how the NFL is over here now, I think it’s important in general. I got to talk to Fran Kirby [Chelsea Women’s player] a little bit while on my trip in London and we talked about how each nation uses their schooling as a pathway to sport.

“Just in terms of getting all aspects of sport out there and accessible for women is amazing and some of my favourite athletes are female sports players.”

The creation of the Flag league gives girls equal opportunities to access American football and know that they can play it if they want to and Uzomah insists it’s ‘huge’ for females, for the sport and for the international growth of the game generally.

“Yeah, I think it’s huge,” said Uzomah.

“I mean don’t get me wrong I wasn’t born into this lifestyle, I didn’t grow up here, so I’m not sure how everything works but in terms of what I call soccer, you go through academy.

“When I was young, I was able to pick a part, put on some boots and just play. We had different leagues in different areas, where you could just throw a kid in.

“For the most part in the UK, you usually must go through that academy system. I remember when I was younger, I was used to seeing boys playing on one field and girls playing on another, that’s what I grew up with.

“That’s why it’s such an important event and it’s important to me that we are doing this because you don’t really see that with Football.

“It’s amazing that in the two-year span in and around the New York area, we have 162 teams now. To be able to grow that, even just half of that here is massive.

“When we come over here, we don’t have a great amount of time so it’s amazing. To be here now to spread the news about the best sport ever is amazing.”

Moving away from the event itself, the former Bengal spoke about how much he enjoys the international series of games the NFL holds in both the UK and Germany.

Uzomah said: “I think it’s huge, the fact that Chase [Claypool] is over here, the fact that – the more players you get involved in them is great.

“The series has stretched to Germany now. I pray that I can play in Germany, I think that’s just brilliant. We also have a game in Mexico, so I think things like that are just great for the sport and for the growth of it over here.

“The beautiful game as you call your football is played globally because all you need is a ball and a couple of goals. So, I think as long as we keep pushing the conversation as a league, I think the sky’s the limit for our sport.

“The Jets just had me at, ‘do you want to go over to London?’ Then, as soon as I had the details as to why, I knew about the expansion and the 162 flag teams we sponsor and I had heard of the idea the Jets had, but once we got into the details, I was like you want me to go over.

“I am truly honoured, and I’ve not taken my time over here for granted at all. I’ve got to go to a lot of different cool events, but I know why I have been here, that focus has never left my mind.

“This has been the most memorable trip I’ve had.”

It’s Fan Friday folks! Anything going on lately…?!

It’s been a historic week for the Jets here in the United Kingdom, as they announced the launch of a joint Jets and Bears NFL Girls Flag League – the first ever girls-only flag league on this side of the pond.

At an awesome event in London on International Women’s Day, speakers including CJ Uzomah, Chase Claypool, Hannah Wilkes and Phoebe Schecter discussed women’s participation in sport and how the league will look to improve opportunities for young women getting started on their NFL journey.

Find out more on our Girls Flag page listed above, and there will be plenty more content to come from CJ’s visit to our shores!

We also have a brand new sweepstakes live on our website – check out the Fan Zone for your chance to win a limited edition helmet signed by all four Jets Pro Bowlers: Sauce Gardner, Quinnen Williams, CJ Mosley and Justin Hardee.

Anything we’re missing from this week? 🤔

Let’s get stuck into our latest Fan Friday feature, which profile John, a long-time Jets fan from Northamptonshire!

• Name: John Tyas
• Twitter handle: N/A
• Location in UK: Rushton, Northamptonshire
• Jets fan since: Jets fan since 1965, when my family arrived in New York having emigrated from England.
• First Jets memory: My first Jets memory was being given a Jets uniform, including shoulder pads and helmet for Christmas that year.
• Favourite Jets memory: My favourite Jets memory was watching Joe Willie and the Jets beat the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III, on our first black and white TV set!
• Ever visited MetLife? If so, what’s the story?: Never been to Metlife, but I watched the Jets at Wembley Stadium in 2015 in London when they beat the Fins, and again in 2021 when they lost to the Falcons.
• Favourite current Jet (and why?): I am so pumped about the 2021 rookie class, it’s hard to pick a favourite, but I also have a lot of respect for Q and CJ!
• Favourite all-time Jet (and why?): All time has got to be Joe Willie Namath. He’s the first Jet I remember. I left NY in 1972, and lost touch with the Jets until NFL games started to appear on TV here in 1981. I was an expert then, and got asked a lot about it as it was so popular…now there are fans here that know more about the game than me!

Thanks to John for taking the time to answer our questions and for his amazing long-time support of the Jets!

For anyone who would like to be featured, please get in contact with us via DM on Twitter or via the email address listed below! Have a great weekend!

THE NEW YORK JETS AND CHICAGO BEARS ANNOUNCE THE FIRST-EVER UK NFL FLAG LEAGUE FOR GIRLS

• Prominent voices from the NFL and the world of sport, including, Phoebe Schecter (NFL Flag), Afia Law (NFL UK), Chase Claypool (Chicago Bears), C.J. Uzomah (New York Jets), Celia Quansah (England Rugby) and Ugo Monye (England Rugby) participated in a panel to announce the launch of the league  
• tarting from the 20th of April, the league will engage London schools and girls between 12 and 14 across five weeks
• NFL Flag is the non-contact version of American Football, it is a fun, fast, and action-packed sport, that promotes body inclusivity, accessibility for all, and teamwork
• All girls participating in the league will receive kits provided by Nike 

March 8, 2023 – This International Women’s Day, the New York Jets and Chicago Bears, launched the inaugural Jets and Bears NFL Girls Flag league, the first UK all girls’ competition of its kind, to overcome barriers in activity and to increase access to sport for young girls.

Starting from the 20th of April, the inaugural league will see girls aged 12-14 compete in two conferences of six teams each (twelve teams total) across five weeks. The Jets and Bears will each run a conference in Ealing, with the winners going head-to-head in a Championship Event on May 22nd.

NFL Flag is one of the fastest growing sports globally, it is the non-contact version of American Football, it is a fun, fast, and action-packed sport that promotes accessibility for all, teamwork, and character development in youth.

At a Jets and Bears launch event, Sky Sports Presenter and panel host, Hannah Wilkes, engaged with prominent advocates in women’s sport, who spoke to the 100 girls competing in the league. This included Phoebe Schecter (Team GB NFL Flag player and NFL Global Flag Ambassador), Celia Quansah (England Rugby Sevens player), Afia Law (Head of Community & Grassroots Development at NFL UK), Chase Claypool (Chicago Bears wide receiver and NFL Global Flag Ambassador), C.J. Uzomah (New York Jets tight end) and Ugo Monye (Former England Rugby Union player & Women’s Sports Trust board member).

The panel discussed the barriers for girls to continue participating in sports throughout secondary school, whilst sharing their own personal experiences and highlighted how NFL Flag can help engage young girls in the future. Following the discussion, the girls received their official Nike and team branded kit and had a taster session of what’s to come with NFL UK coaches.

In a Sport England survey of 4,000 children between 11-18 years old, 50% of girls reported they don’t have the self confidence to play competitive sport.1 Significantly, 45% stated they do not have the right body shape, with the same percentage avoiding exercise completely due to feeling self-conscious and 61% highlighting they feel judged.

However, the same study found 76% of girls want to be more active, 64% of girls enjoy competitive sport and 66% of girls believe they are good at team sports. NFL Flag is a viable option to combat this as 47% of uninspired girls reported that they would be more inclined to be active if there was something more fun and adventurous to participate in.

Dr. Victor Thompson, Sports and Clinical Psychologist, has welcomed the introduction of the league after helping athletes of all ages and levels in sport for over 10 years. He understands the wider benefits of sport and how this new initiative can break down social and emotional barriers to girls’ participation.

He said: “NFL Flag is a fun and inclusive sport for all whilst providing pro-social settings. As a growing sport in the UK, and a new experience for most participants, girls can access Flag football without limiting expectations.”  

“The launch of this new league will help girls foster a can-do mindset within a supportive team environment and community. The game brings a great social atmosphere, where everyone works together to plan and execute winning plays, building outputs that include life-long psychological skills in strategy, communication, resilience, and can promote healthy mental wellbeing for the future.”

Both the Jets and the Bears have been instrumental in the growth of female flag football in the US. The Jets have grown from eight teams to over 110 in New York and New Jersey in just three years, while the Bears saw a 300% increase in just one year, with over 1,200 girls now participating in flag football leagues.

Afia Law (Head of Community & Grassroots Development at NFL UK), commented: “NFL UK is seeing great momentum in Flag Football participation across the country and initiatives like this are a fantastic way to engage young people to get active and involved. As a former player, I’m delighted to see an increase in opportunities for girls to play Flag, helping them to feel like they belong in a sport, and I am excited to see the growth of Flag Football nationwide in the coming years.”

New York Jets, stated: “The creation of our new league furthers our commitment to providing female athletes an equitable opportunity to play what we consider to be the greatest sport in the world. The collaboration between the Jets and Bears ensures the athletes will have a first class, professional experience. We are thrilled to continue cultivating meaningful relationships and expanding our fanbase throughout the United Kingdom.” 

Chicago Bears, stated: “As part of our core mission, the Chicago Bears look to inspire young people to participate in sports and increase access to organised sports. With our fanbase in the UK growing, we wanted to showcase that there were opportunities for everyone in this sport. Our hope with this partnership is to create greater access for younger girls in sports and to give them a space to participate and stand out in flag football.”

Ugo Monye (Former England Rugby Union player), said: “As an NFL fan and a parent to two young girls, I am excited to be a part of the Jets and Bears making history with the first ever UK NFL Flag League for girls. I’m looking forward to seeing some great games and hopefully some future players in the sport.”

The ambition of this tournament is to expand to other UK cities and age groups in future years to provide more opportunities for young girls. Competitors will be able to benefit with transferable skills that will stay with them from life with both teams providing bespoke coaching sessions throughout from a qualified NFL Flag coach.

To find out more about the inaugural NFL Girls Flag League, please visit, www.chicagobears.com and nyjetsinuk.com/girls-flag. To find out more about NFL Flag in the UK, please visit, https://www.nfl.com/uk/nfl-flag.

END

References

• 1 Sport England & Women in Sport: Reframing Sport for Teenage Girls – March 2022

About New York Jets

The New York Jets were founded in 1959 as the New York Titans, an original member of the American Football League (AFL). The Jets won Super Bowl III, defeating the NFL’s Baltimore Colts in 1969. In 1970, the franchise joined the National Football League in the historic AFL–NFL merger that set the foundation for today’s league. As part of a commitment to its fan base through innovation and experiences, the team has created initiatives such as, its trailblazing Jets Rewards program, a state-of-the-art mobile app, and Jets 360 Productions, a comprehensive content platform that gives fans greater access to the team across all digital and social platforms. The organization takes great pride in a long-standing, year-round commitment to their community. These programs are funded by the New York Jets Foundation and look to positively influence the lives of young men and women particularly in disadvantaged communities. The organization supports the efforts of the Lupus Research Alliance, youth football and numerous established charitable organizations and causes sponsored by the NFL. The New York Jets play in MetLife Stadium, which opened in 2010, and are headquartered at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center in Florham Park, New Jersey. For more information about the New York Jets visit newyorkjets.com.

About Chicago Bears

One of the founding franchises of the National Football League, the Chicago Bears were established in 1920 as the Decatur Staleys by legendary player, coach and owner, George S. Halas. The team moved to Chicago in 1921. In 1922, Halas changed the team’s name from the Staleys to the Bears and the team has gone on to win nine NFL Championships, including one Super Bowl. The Bears 30 Hall of Famers are the most of any team in the NFL. A pillar in the community for more than a century, the Bears strive to be civic leaders throughout Chicago and its suburbs by supporting initiatives focused on social justice, youth and high school football, the military, health equity, education, volunteerism and civic involvement.

NEW YORK JETS AND CHICAGO BEARS UNVEIL UK FLAG LEAGUE FOR GIRLS

By Sky Sports NFL Presenter Neil Reynolds

The offseason is a time for many intriguing storylines and one has me both interested and delighted in equal measure. Two NFL teams, the New York Jets and the Chicago Bears, will be running a girls flag football league in London throughout this spring.

NFL UK has already enjoyed tremendous success with their Flag Football program as 476 schools are participating in the non-contact version of American football. More than 28,000 primary and secondary school boys and girls are now playing flag football across 26 regions of the United Kingdom.

And now, the Jets and Bears are committed to growing the sport of American football in the UK, running a 12-team tournament of West London schools featuring girls aged 12 to 14. And while this will be a fun and rewarding experience for all involved, bragging rights will also be at stake; the league will be split into two conferences with six teams representing the Jets and six, the Bears.

I love watching young children playing flag football. It is a great entry point for the sport and one my own son, George, took by playing for the Kent Exiles when he was 13 years old. He went from playing quarterback in flag to the kitted version of the game; representing Great Britain and going on to play for the NFL Academy, which helped him win a sports scholarship [BD1] to the University of Ottawa in Canada.

Every year, I attend the NFL’s Flag Championship and find the whole event to be thoroughly enjoyable and a great way to bring new fans to the sport we all love. The winners of last summer’s tournament – Little Ealing Primary School – went on to represent the UK at the Pro Bowl Games in Las Vegas. But every child and every team seemed to have fun, even though there could be just one champion to emerge from Loughborough.

And now, thanks to the Jets and Bears, more girls are going to be introduced to playing American football and gain the insights and benefits the sport has to offer. The women’s game is blossoming in this country with the Great Britain national team winning a silver medal at last summer’s world championships. More and more girls playing the sport can only be a good thing at all levels of the game.

Such commitment to Girls Flag is nothing new for the Jets and they should be applauded for their commitment to growing the game on both sides of the Atlantic. The Jets have their own Girls Flag program in New Jersey that was launched in 2021 and has expanded to Long Island and Upstate New York and  features more than 100 schools. Additionally, they have sponsored a league in Manhattan that has grown to 62 teams – more than the boys tackle programs.

The Jets and Bears NFL Girls Flag tournament will run from April 17 to May 22 and whoever comes out on top, I know this… everyone who participates is going to have a great deal of fun and will become NFL fans along the way.

Good luck to all involved and I cannot wait to see how the action on the field unfolds in the coming weeks!

It didn’t take long for The Shrine to come to The Island.

The Island needs no introduction to Jets fans. He’s Darrelle Revis, the Green & White’s uber-cornerback from 2007-12 and then for an encore in 2015-16.

And The Shrine is short for the Canton Shrine, a.k.a. the Pro Football Hall of Fame, which wasted no time in welcoming Revis as a new member — in his first year of eligibility — on Thursday night in Phoenix during the 12th annual NFL Honors telecast.

“I’m a big fan of everybody here,” Revis said during a group interview for the Class of ’23 shortly after the show conlcuded. “I think we’re all GOATs. Everybody has a special skillset here. I think everyone worked very hard and was very passionate to get to this point to be Hall of Famers. And now it’s time to say thanks to everybody who helped you along the way.”

Jets CEO Robert Wood Johnson was among the many fans who had words of congratulation and high praise for Revis upon his striding into the Hall.

“Tonight, Darrelle earned the games highest honor — first-ballot election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame,” Johnson said in a statement. “Early in his career, we witnessed the strength of character, dedication to the game and special football acumen that made him into an elite competitor. We look forward to seeing his bust enshrined forever with the other titans of the game in Canton, Ohio.”

Thus Revis, as well as Jets defensive lineman Joe Klecko as a seniors finalist, become the 19th and 20th NFL members with Jets connections and the seventh and eighth “primary” Jets to be selected for Hall of Fame membership after the Hall’s 49-person Selection Committee voted in the days before Super Bowl LVII is played at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, AZ.

Also, Revis becomes the first primary Jets player to be named a first-ballot Hall of Famer, in his first year of eligibility after his retirement five seasons earlier. Neither Joe Namath (in his third year of eligibility), Weeb Ewbank (third), Don Maynard (eighth), Curtis Martin (second) or any other player who played the majority of his career with the J-E-T-S made it to the big stage in his first year of eligibility.

Further, Revis is the only primary Jets cornerback to be inducted into pro football’s temple located in eastern Ohio, an hour south of Cleveland. Only one other CB with Jets ties, Ty Law, had previously been enshrined, in 2019. In fact, Law, who hails from Aliquippa, PA, just like Revis, introduced him as a newly minted Hall of Famer to the packed house at Phoenix’s Symphony Hall.

Ahead of the nationally televised announcement of his selection on the NFL Honors program, Revis told Jets reporters in November that the secret for winning awards — such as his four All-Pro first-team berths, three with the Jets, seven Pro Bowls, five with the Jets, and his Jets Ring of Honor induction during this past season’s game against the Bears — is about not thinking about winning awards.

“When you’re in it, you’re hyper-focused about winning games and contending and trying to be at the top of your conference or in the playoffs. The ultimate goal is winning championships,” said Revis, who that day sported a black baseball cap with the slogan “Chase Your Dreams.” “You’re just hyper-focused, and whatever accolades the team or any individual receives, it’s OK at that time, but at the same time, our ultimate goal has been to always win championships.”

Revis won a Super Bowl with New England in 2014 but never won one with the Jets, although he was a major force in helping them get to the 2009 and ’10 AFC Championship Games. Along the way he had a number of Fame-ous accomplishments that are familiar to longtime fans of the Green & White:

• He had 29 career regular-season interceptions plus three more in the playoffs, with 25 of the regular-season thefts and two of the playoff picks coming as the Jets’ left corner.
• He had 112 pass defenses as a Jet, with his 31 PDs in 2009 the most by any NFL player in any season since the statistic first started to be tracked in 1991.
• He had three INT returns for touchdowns, all as a Jet, with his last, the 100-yard return at home vs. Miami in 2011, tying the mark for the longest defensive return in franchise history — in a solid victory on Monday Night Football, no less.

The 2009-11 seasons were the peak of No. 24’s rule on Revis Island. In ’09 alone he added to his 31 PDs a total of six interceptions, one for a TD, while putting the cover-corner kibosh on some of the best wideouts of that season — Randy Moss (4 catches, 24 yards at home, 5-34 at the Patriots), Terrell Owens (3-13 at MetLife, 3-31 at the Bills), Andre Johnson (4-35 at the Texans), Reggie Wayne (3-33 at the Colts) and Chad Ochocinco (no catches for the Bengals in Game 16, 2-28 in the AFC Wild Card Game).

“I had to cover some of the greatest Hall of Fame receivers, and for me it was just being the best prepared that I could be,” Revis said. “If a practice squad wide receiver had to be Randy Moss or Chad Ochocinco that week, then I know where you’re supposed to line up, what routes you’re running in this formation. I was just making sure I wasn’t letting my team down in any way.”

Now Revis is a Hall of Famer along with those wideouts he covered like a wave crashing on the shores of his own private island. And as fellow Hall of Famer Charles Woodson, enshrined in 2009, told newyorkjets.com’s Eric Allen this week in Phoenix about what made Revis so dominant:

“I think it was his patience, man. Playing man-to-man, you’ve got to have a certain level of patience. I think if you ask the guys that played against him, at the line of scrimmage he was that patient player. There weren’t too many times you were going to get away from him. And he had that dog in him, he had that mentality. You put those two things together, you’re going to have a pretty good player.”

Joe Klecko, unlike Tom Petty, has said the waiting hasn’t been the hardest part. In Klecko’s case it was waiting to hear from the Pro Football Hall of Fame that he was going to be enshrined in Canton.

“It really is kind of easy for me,” Klecko, the Jets’ construction-site-tough defensive line legend, said in August at Jets training camp. “Until the check’s in the bank, I’m going to maintain my civility about this and live my normal life.”

But word arrived that month that Klecko, as a Seniors candidate, had made it to the final round of the 2023 Hall of Fame voting. And that set the stage for Thursday night, when Klecko — and Jets Nation and the NFL universe — learned during the NFL Honors telecast that he has been named a member of the Class of ’23 for induction into Canton this summer.

No more having his hopes raised, then dashed. No more waiting civilly one more year. Thirty-six years after his last game as a Jet, 35 years after he retired as a player, Joe Klecko is in the Hall of Fame.

“I don’t think it’s hit me yet, as far as total acceptance,” he said shortly after the awards show ended. “After 30 years, you get the call and you’re grateful. But it’s still sinking in.”

Jets CEO Robert Wood Johnson was among those who were pleased to hear that the big D-lineman’s wait was now over.

“Congratulations, Joe, on being elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame,” Johnson said in a statement. “You were one of the greatest players to ever wear the Jets uniform. You played every position on the defensive line and took no prisoners. Your impact on the history of the New York Jets was huge and I’m so happy you’ve gotten this honor that you richly deserve.”

The message of Klecko’s ascendancy into football’s pantheon was even delivered in person by Joe Namath, Hall of Famer, Class of 1985, from the stage of Phoenix’s Symphony Hall. Shortly after the two Joes hugged, Klecko took his place with six other members of this year’s nine-member class, which included, along with Revis, Ronde Barber, Joe Thomas, Zach Thomas, DeMarcus Ware, and Seniors candidate Chuck Howley. Two other Hall of Fame selectees, Senior Ken Riley and coach Don Coryell, were recognized posthumously.

Not only did Namath introduce Klecko on Thursday, but the iconic Jets QB went to Klecko’s house with a Hall of Fame camera crew and was the first person to tell Klecko he made it to Canton

“Honestly, it was exhilarating,” Klecko told newyorkjets.com’s Eric Allen late Thursday night. “The best part of it was Joe, it really was. I give Joe every accolade. He’s one of the greatest people for the NFL, he’s just an icon. For him to come to my house — what a great feeling. It was a cheerful, glorious time when it happened.”

But the ball actually began moving back in August, when Klecko first found out he would be one of three Seniors candidate finalists in this year’s balloting.

“The announcement from the Hall, without a doubt, was one of the most exhilarating things,” Klecko said of word that he was a finalist, which was not quite a guarantee yet was a very strong sign for any Seniors candidate that he would receive the 80 percent of the vote from the HOF Selection Committee and be inducted right before the Super Bowl. “I was very excited. It’s been a whirlwind.”

The next six months should be a blast as well as Klecko, as well as franchise mate Darrelle Revis, who was named to the Class of ’23 as a Modern-Era Candidate, enjoys the time in the limelight from being named to the Hall to being officially inducted in Canton on Aug. 5 during Enshrinement Week.

As many fans of the Jets and the NFL know and Johnson and Namath alluded to, one of Klecko’s claims to fame is that he is one of only three players to have been voted to the Pro Bowl at three different positions — defensive end for the ’81 Pro Bowl, D-tackle for the ’83 and ’84 games, and nose in 1985. He was also named NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1981 by the Pro Football Writers. These honors were built on a number of impressive achievements, including:

• His sack total from 1982, when individual defensive sacks became official, through the 1987 season, his last as a Jet, is only 24. But including the sack research that has been done dating to 1960, Klecko’s regular-season total unofficially blooms to 78, which is second-most in franchise history, behind only Mark Gastineau’s 116.
• He unofficially had at least one full sack in each of his final six games as a rookie in 1977, then opened the ’78 campaign with four more games of at least one full sack. The streak of 10 consecutive games with a full sack is a franchise mark, and had sacks been official in the second half of the Seventies, it’s believed he would’ve set an NFL mark that would have remained tied for the most in league history until the Chiefs’ Chris Jones assembled an 11-game sack streak in 2018.
• His philosophy of “I don’t care what you do” regarding where his coaches played him extended to special teams, specifically the kick-block unit. He had five blocked kicks (one punt, two FGs, two XPs) over the years, equaling the franchise record for most blocks in a career established by Paul Crane in 1971, a few years before Klecko got started.

As rough and tough and friendly as Joe remains all these years later, he also is humbled by this elusive prize that is finally his. Asked about what he remembered most about his playing days, his first thought was the New York Sack Exchange — Mark Gastineau, Marty Lyons, Abdul Salaam and him — that scared opposing QBs and offenses to the tune of a team-record 66 sacks in 1981. A second thought was how great Jets fans were and are.

And he reluctantly compared his style of play to two current NFL D-line stars in the Rams’ Aaron Donald and the Steelers’ Cameron Heyward.

“There’s two guys I would say that play a lot like I did,” he said. “Heyward, the way he plays with his strength, running people over a lot, and Donald, who plays with his quickness. I had both those things on my side. Once I got a guy worried about running over him and he’d hunker down and try to sit down on me, I’d go right around, I’d bang their hands and stuff like that. Those two guys, they remind me of what I did.”

Among the many well-wishers for Klecko in Phoenix was another Pittsburgh player of note. Terry Bradshaw was sacked by Klecko in Game 3 of Joe’s 10-game sack streak in ’77 and again in ’81, in between the two performing in the 1981 Burt Reynolds movie The Cannonball Run and before Bradshaw went on to fame and fortune as a Fox football talking head.

“I love Joe Klecko,” Bradshaw said along the Super Bowl’s Radio Row this week. “He was tough. You had to always build your offense around him. First you had to protect yourself against him. Then you had to trap him, you had to try to neutralize him. If you didn’t, he was so disruptive.

“Tell him I said congratulations, well-deserved.”

We’ll do that, Terry, but we won’t be the only ones. After all, the wait is over for Joe and the dam of Jets fans’ well wishes for No. 73 in green and white has broken.