No. 8 Aaron Rodgers Jerseys Will Hit Shelves Soon

The New York Jets' new quarterback will don his old college number in Green & White

Author:
Ralph Ventre
Publish date:
Apr 24, 2023 9:16 PM EDT

In this story:

Aaron Rodgers is throwing it back to his days in Berkeley.

When he suits up for his new team, the New York Jets' quarterback will reportedly wear the No. 8 on his jersey as he did during his collegiate career with the California Golden Bears.

Rodgers donned the No. 12 for the past 18 seasons in Green Bay, but that number was retired by the Jets in honor of Hall-of-Fame signal caller Joe Namath.

Still tuned into the happenings in Florham Park, the 79-year old Namath publicly proposed to unretire his number if Rodgers wound up landing with the Jets.

“I know [Jets owner] Mr. [Woody] Johnson’s trying to get a quarterback, and if there’s a way he can get [Aaron] Rodgers. … If he’s there, yeah, I want him to wear his number," Namath said while speaking as a guest on WFAN's "Tiki and Tierney."

"We establish ourselves, and we got a real respect for our numbers, and Aaron Rodgers, God almighty yeah, it would be great to have him in New York,” said Namath.

Likely out of respect for the legendary Namath, it doesn't appear that Rodgers will take Broadway Joe up on his offer.

ESPN's Adam Schefter said, in a tweet, that the 39-year old Rodgers will go back to his old college number upon arriving in New York.

Namath, who guaranteed victory in Super Bowl III over the heavily-favored Baltimore Colts, was tabbed as the Jets' Best Draft Pick of All Time by Sports Illustrated's Matt Verderame earlier this month.

Coming out of Cal following a record-setting 2004 season, Rodgers was the No. 24 overall selection in the 2005 NFL Draft. He became the Packers' full-time starter in 2008 and proceeded to author an unforgettable legacy.

Rodgers has exceeded the 4,000-yard passing mark in five of his last seven seasons while no Jet has reached that plateau since Namath accomplished the feat in 1967 when teams played 14-game schedules.