Iconic quarterback Joe Namath’s number will stay retired for the New York Jets.

On Thursday, the Jets completed their trade with the Green Bay Packers for quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who has worn No. 12 on his jersey through 18 NFL seasons.

MORE NFL:

· MOTHERLY ADVICE TO TITANS GM: ‘YOU BETTER NOT TRADE DERRICK’

· EAGLES QB JALEN HURTS ON NEW CONTRACT: ‘MONEY IS NICE. CHAMPIONSHIPS ARE BETTER’

· 21 AND COUNTING FOR THE STATE IN THIS WEEK’S NFL DRAFT

New York retired No. 12 in 1985, the year that Namath was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Namath wore that number with the Jets from 1965 through 1976 after being No. 12 at Alabama during his college career.

Rodgers will wear No. 8 with the Jets, the number that he wore during his college career at California, ESPN reported, even though Namath said he was OK with bringing No. 12 out of mothballs for the four-time NFL MVP.

No player has worn No. 12 for the Jets since Namath.

The AFL Rookie of the Year in 1965 and the AFL Player of the Year in 1968 and 1969, Namath led the Jets to their only championship to cap the 1968 season, when New York upended the Baltimore Colts 16-7 with the quarterback winning the MVP Award for Super Bowl III, one of the milestone game’s in NFL history.

Namath was selected for five AFL All-Star games and NFL Pro Bowls as New York’s quarterback. All the other Jets quarterbacks combined have had five such selections.

During a January radio appearance on “Tiki and Tierney” on WFAN in New York, Namath said if the Jets landed Rodgers, he would be happy for the incoming QB to wear No. 12.

“I’m a big Rodgers fan,” Namath said, “and I noticed that he wears No. 12, of course, so I’m thinking, ‘Man, if we get him on our side, is he still going to be wearing No. 12?’ because that number was retired many years ago.

“This is what I’m saying: It’s on ownership, and it’s different ownership, it’s different people, and I sure like Rodgers. If he’s there, yeah, I want him to wear his number. 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.”

FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.