Broadway Joe For Sale?

NEW YORK -- An unusually pensive Joe Namath said that Sunday's game could be his last in a New York Jets uniform. "I don't really know," Namath said. "It could very well be. It's all according to how I feel and right now I can't say whether I'll be back or not next year . . . I don't have to make that decision right now." Namath also said it's quite possible he could be traded but that he would first have to learn the location before making a decision on whether to go.

"Right now I don't know if I'm going to play," he said, "but there's also the possibility that someone might not want me to play here. If I do get traded, it would have to be a contender or a warm weather team. At this stage of my career, I'm not about to go somewhere they're rebuilding. "Like for instance, I wouldn't go to New England. Not that I have anything against the people up there but they're not a contender -- and it's too cold. I wouldn't go to Buffalo or St. Louis or a few other places. But what's the difference? You're not able to pick anyway. I'd rather play here than anywhere else."

Namath has been reported to be interested in moving to the West Coast, where he could promote his acting career, but he denied that acting would affect his decision. "If I go somewhere to play football, that's what I intend doing," he said. "You can't act and play football at the same time. The good thing about Los Angeles is that it's warm and that it's a good team, a contender."

Asked if the Rams would be interested in hiring Namath, general manager Don Klosterman said, "Like everybody else in the league, the Rams admire Namath. But all we're thinking about is Cleveland and what's going on right now."

Namath also said negotiatons with the proposed World Football League are in the hands of his attorney. "I haven't talked to anybody and I don't know anything about it," 'he explained. "It's none of my business. My lawyer is talking with them. I have a job right now. The big thing is that I want to play for a winner. I don't want to go to a new team just to play."

Namath has been plagued by injuries the past few years. He entered the league with a $427,000 contract in 1965 and immediately underwent knee surgery. Since then he has undergone four knee operations, missing almost all of the 1971 season after having a knee injured in a preseason game. He also missed most of the 1970 season with a broken bone in his wrist. This year, he separated his shoulder in the second game of the season against Baltimore on Sept. 23 and did not return until Nov. 18. He played two games but was forced out against Philadelphia last week with a bad knee.

[source: ap]