On November 28, 1964, the NFL and the upstart AFL held their respective drafts on the same day-November 28, 1964. The NFL’s St. Louis Cardinals selected Namath 12th overall in their draft, while the Jets selected him with the AFL’s first overall pick. Joe Namath elected to sign with the Jets, who were under the direction of Hall of Fame owner Sonny Werblin, for a salary of more than $400,000. It was a pro football record at the time. That’s right-400,000 used to buy you a QB destined for legend and the Hall of Fame.  (a pro football record at the time). And now it doesn’t even buy the Jets a 2nd-string QB to bench behind Brett Favre. However, $400,000 does allow you to secure the best seats in the house in the new Meadowlands stadium opening up in 2010. Unlike the Giants, who are selling personal seat licenses for the new digs at a bargain basement price of $20,000 a pop, the other New York club decided to auction off their seats to highest bidder and reserved the very best-two seats, front row, 50-yard line-for a special even swankier auction. The winning bid: $200,000. Each. To a Manhattan mortgage mogul. That’s just for the right to buy the tickets, which cost $700 a game (the most expensive seat in the current Giants Stadium is $115.) So what do you get for all that coin? Free food, free parking, a separate non-plebe-infested entrance to the stadium and a special patio that allows you stand on the field next to the Jets bench during the games. Smell the excitement!

Via NY Post