Joe Namath is a former professional quarterback.  He played college football at Alabama, where he led the team to a national championship title, and was selected by the Jets first overall in the 1965 AFL Draft.

Namath played in the AFL and NFL for 13 seasons, primarily with the New York Jets. During his five AFL seasons, he was a two-time MVP and twice led the league in passing yards while guiding the Jets to victory in one AFL championship and one Super Bowl. Both victories remain the Jets' only championships as of 2021. Namath joined the NFL with the Jets in 1970 following the AFL–NFL merger, where he was the league's passing yards and touchdowns leader during the 1972 season. He played in New York for seven more seasons, with his final year spent as a member of the Los Angeles Rams. Namath cemented his legacy in 1969 when he boldly guaranteed his heavy underdog Jets would win Super Bowl III before defeating the NFL's Baltimore Colts in one of the greatest sports upsets of all time. The Super Bowl victory was the first for an AFL franchise, helping dismiss notions that its teams were inferior to the NFL's and demonstrate they would enter the merger as equals. 

In June 2013, Namath was the guest speaker at the Pro Football Hall of Fame, unveiling the Canton, Ohio, museum's $27 million expansion and renovation plan. As of 2018, Namath is the spokesperson for the insurance agency Medicare Coverage Helpline.