Iconic Joe Namath Sports Illustrated Cover Gets A Makeover Featuring Darrelle Revis
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Darrelle Revis is probably the only Jet since Joe Namath who could pull this off.
In an effort to commemorate the 50th anniversary of its issue featuring Joe Namath, Sports Illustrated is recreating its iconic "Football Goes Show Biz" cover from July 1965, this time showcasing Revis, easily the team's most recognizable player.
On the cover, Revis, arguably the best cornerback in the NFL, strikes a Namath-like pose to the left of an inserted headline which reads "One Man Is An Island," an obvious reference to "Revis Island," the fictional place where all wide receivers that match up against Revis are said to be marooned.
SI was rather prophetic back in the day because the Jets have not even been to a Super Bowl, let alone won one, since taking the championship in 1969, following Namath's fourth year in the league.
Revis was adored by Jets fans from the second he was picked No. 14 overall in the 2007 draft, making the Pro Bowl every season from 2008 through 2011 and helping the Jets to back-to-back AFC Championship game appearances during the 2009 and 2010 seasons.
However, constant contract problems created a rift between the star player and owner Woody Johnson, a disagreement that came to a head after Revis suffered a serious knee injury that cost him the final 14 games of the 2012 season. The Jets traded Revis that offseason to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with whom he played one season before signing as a free agent with the New England Patriots.
Following a brutal 2014 season in which the Jets went 4-12, they were in desperate need of a revamped secondary. And when the Pats, fresh off winning the Super Bowl, declined to pick up Revis' one-year, $20 million option for 2015, the Jets swooped in and made the biggest splash of free agency, signing the 30-year-old defensive back to a five-year, $70 million contract with $39 million guaranteed.
The move was the centerpiece of a massive roster overhaul orchestrated by new general manager Mike Maccagnan.
The SI issue featuring Revis is due out on Wednesday.
