Namath: Rodgers not taking No. 12 jersey with Jets 'touched my heart'

Hall of Famer Joe Namath says he was touched by Aaron Rodgers' decision to give up his old jersey number after being traded to the New York Jets.

Namath previously gave Rodgers his blessing to wear his retired No. 12 with the Jets, but the quarterback opted against that and will instead switch to No. 8, which he wore in college at California.

"That was warm, that touched my heart a bit, that shows something about the man," Namath told Steve Serby of the New York Post. "He has a way about him, a lot of respect for the past. I was humbly grateful - you know what I mean? It felt good. It made me like (him) even more.

"First time I met him, I liked him, and I'll tell you what, I've not seen anybody play better than him the times over the last 10, 15 years I've been watching."

Rodgers, who wore No. 12 throughout his 18 seasons with the Green Bay Packers, explained his reasoning behind changing numbers at his introductory press conference with the Jets on Wednesday.

"There's some iconic names that have played here - probably not more iconic than No. 12. And I heard what he said about in retiring his number, but to me, 12 is Broadway Joe," he said. "I didn't want to even go down that path, and I'm excited about going back to my college number."