The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team plays its home games at MetLife Stadium (which it shares with the New York Giants) at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, five miles (eight kilometers) west of New York City. The team is headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey. The franchise is legally organized as a limited liability company under the name New York Jets, LLC.[6]
The team was founded in 1959 as the Titans of New York, a charter member of the American Football League (AFL); the franchise joined the NFL in the AFL–NFL merger in 1970. The team began play in 1960 at the Polo Grounds in upper Manhattan, the former home of the football and baseball Giants. Under new ownership, the current name was adopted in 1963 and the franchise moved to Shea Stadium in Queens in 1964, then to the Meadowlands Sports Complex in New Jersey in 1984. The team’s training facility was located at Hofstra University on Long Island until 2008, when the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center[7] opened in Florham Park.[8]
The Jets advanced to the AFL playoffs for the first time in 1968 and went on to compete in Super Bowl III where they defeated the Baltimore Colts, becoming the first AFL team to defeat an NFL club in an AFL–NFL World Championship Game.[9] However, the Jets have never returned to the Super Bowl, making them one of two NFL teams to win their lone Super Bowl appearance along with the New Orleans Saints, and one of five teams never to win a conference championship since the AFL–NFL merger in 1970, along with the Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, and two expansion franchises, the Jacksonville Jaguars (who began play in 1995) and Houston Texans (2002). Since 1970 the Jets have won the AFC East only twice, in 1998 and 2002, the fewest division titles among NFL teams in the post-merger era. They have qualified for the postseason 12 times, and reached the AFC Championship Game four times, most recently losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2010.[10] The Jets have not qualified for the playoffs since then, and currently hold the longest active playoff drought in the NFL and are tied with the Buffalo Sabres for the longest drought in the “Big 4” North American sports leagues.[11] The Jets also have the longest championship drought among New York’s major professional sports franchises, having eclipsed the New York Rangers‘ 54-year drought (from 1940 to 1994) in 2023.
The Jets’ team colors are green and white, although they have at times used black as a third/trim color and have had a black alternate uniform since 2019. For most of their history the Jets had white helmets with green stripes and oval or football-shaped logos, and opposite-colored jersey sleeves; the current primary uniforms are based on the design used from 1978–89 with simpler striping, green helmets, and a wordmark logo in stylized italic lettering with a jet-plane silhouette above the letters.
History
The first organizational meeting of the American Football League took place on August 14, 1959.[12] Harry Wismer, representing the city of New York at the meeting, proclaimed the state was ready for another professional football team and that he was more than capable of running the daily operations.[12]
Wismer was granted the charter franchise later dubbed the Titans of New York as Wismer explained, “Titans are bigger and stronger than Giants.”[13] He secured the Titans’ home field at the decrepit Polo Grounds, a place where the team struggled financially and on the field during its first three years.[14] In their first two seasons of existence, coached by Sammy Baugh, the Titans went 7–7 in both 1960 and 1961.[15][16][17] By 1962, the debt continued to mount for Wismer, forcing the AFL to assume the costs of the team until season’s end.[18]
A five-man syndicate, headed by Sonny Werblin, saved the team from certain bankruptcy, purchasing the lowly Titans for $1 million in 1963.[19] Werblin renamed the team the New York Jets since the team would play near LaGuardia Airport[20] and because it rhymed with the New York Mets as they would be playing in Shea Stadium.[21] The new name was intended to reflect the modern approach of his team. The Jets’ owners hired Weeb Ewbank as the general manager and head coach.[19] Ewbank and quarterback Joe Namath led the Jets to prominence in 1969, when New York defeated the heavily favored Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III[9] and solidified the AFL’s position in the world of professional football.[22]
When the AFL and NFL merged, the team fell into a state of mediocrity along with their star quarterback, Namath, who only had three successful post-merger seasons after injuries hampered much of his career. The Jets continued to spiral downward before enjoying a string of successes in the 1980s, which included an appearance in the 1982 AFC Championship Game, and the emergence of the popular New York Sack Exchange.[23][24] Walt Michaels and Joe Walton coached the team throughout the decade.[25][26]
The early 1990s saw the team struggling.[27] After firing coach Bruce Coslet,[28] owner Leon Hess hired Pete Carroll who struggled to a 6–10 record and was promptly fired at the end of the season.[29][30] Thereafter, Rich Kotite was selected to lead the team to victory; instead he led the Jets to a 4–28 record over the next two years.[31] Kotite stepped down at the end of his second season, forcing the Jets to search for a new head coach.[27]
Hess lured then-disgruntled New England Patriots head coach Bill Parcells to New York in 1997.[32] Parcells led the team back to relevance and coached them to the AFC Championship Game in 1998.[33][34] Hess died in 1999 while the team, plagued by injuries, produced an eight win record, falling short of a playoff berth.[34] At the end of the season, Parcells stepped down as head coach deferring control to his assistant, Bill Belichick;[35] Belichick resigned the very next day (leaving a napkin at the stage for his introduction, on which he had written “I resign as HC of the NYJ”) and went on to accept the head coaching position with the Patriots.[36]
The franchise obtained a new owner in Woody Johnson in 2000.[37] Additionally, through the 2000s the Jets visited the playoffs five times, a franchise record, under the direction of three coaches: Herm Edwards, Eric Mangini, and Rex Ryan.[38][39][40] Rex Ryan was hired in January 2009.[41] In the draft that year the Jets would take USC quarterback Mark Sanchez with the fifth overall pick with the intent of making him the franchise centerpiece.[42] Ryan and Sanchez led the team to back-to-back AFC Championship Game appearances during their first two years,[43] but the team never made the playoffs again during their tenure. The Jets had a 6–10 season in 2012 and a 8–8 season in 2013.[44][45] After a 4–12 season in 2014, Sanchez was released, while Ryan and general manager John Idzik were fired.[46][47]
Prior to the 2015 season, Todd Bowles was hired to replace Ryan as head coach.[48] In his first season, he led the Jets to a 10–6 record that finished second in the AFC East but failed to qualify for the postseason.[49][50] However, the Jets followed up the 2015 season with three consecutive last place finishes in the AFC East from 2016 to 2018, winning no more than five games each season.[51][52][53] Bowles was fired following the third consecutive losing season.[54] The Jets used their first round pick, third overall, on quarterback Sam Darnold from USC.[55] Adam Gase was hired to replace Bowles prior to the 2019 season.[56] Gase’s tenure saw the Jets go 7–9 in 2019 and 2–14 in 2020, missing the postseason both years.[57][58] Gase was fired following the 2020 season.[59] Prior to the 2021 season, the Jets hired former 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh as head coach.[60] The Jets used their first round pick, second overall, on BYU quarterback Zach Wilson.[61] The 2021 season saw the Jets go 4–13 to finish last in the AFC East.[62] The 2022 season saw improvement for the Jets with a 7–10 record with another last place finish in the division.[63] In the 2023 season, the Jets once again finished 7–10 in a season that started hopeful with the signing of Aaron Rodgers, who later suffered a season-ending Achilles tear on the first offensive series of the regular season.[64][65][66][67] Rodgers was released by the Jets in February 2025 after two seasons with the team, although he remained on the roster until March 12.[68] The 2024 season saw the Jets fire Saleh after a 2–3 start.[69] Jeff Ulbrich finished the season with a 3–9 mark to end with a 5–12 record.[70] Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn was named as head coach following the season.[71]
Championships
AFL championships
| Season | Coach | Location | Opponent | Score | Record | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | Weeb Ewbank | Shea Stadium (New York) | Oakland Raiders | 27–23 | 11–3 | |
| Total AFL Championships won: | 1 | |||||
Super Bowl championships
| Season | Coach | Super Bowl | Location | Opponent | Score | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | Weeb Ewbank | III | Orange Bowl (Miami) | Baltimore Colts | 16–7 | 11–3 |
| Total Super Bowls won: | 1 | |||||
Division championships
| Year | Coach | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | Weeb Ewbank | 11–3 |
| 1969 | 10–4 | |
| 1998 | Bill Parcells | 12–4 |
| 2002 | Herm Edwards | 9–7 |
| Total division championships won: | 4 | |
Ownership
Harry Wismer
Harry Wismer, a businessman, had been interested in sports for much of his life when he was granted a charter franchise in the American Football League.[72] Wismer was a three-sport letterman in high school, and went on to play football for the University of Florida and Michigan State University before a knee injury ended his playing career.[72] Undeterred, Wismer began his career as a broadcaster with Michigan State and became a pioneer of the industry. Later, as the Titans owner, Wismer formulated a league-wide policy which allowed broadcasting rights to be shared equally among the teams.[72]
Wismer, who had previously had a 25% stake in the Washington Redskins, was interested in the American Football League and was given a franchise to develop in New York. Wismer, whose philosophy was who you knew mattered most, tried to make the team and the league a success.[72] His efforts began to accrue debt as the Titans’ first two seasons were mediocre with attendance dropping in the team’s second year.[72] The franchise was sold for $1 million to a five-man syndicate headed by Sonny Werblin of the Gotham Football Club, Inc., in February 1963.[72]
Sonny Werblin syndicate
Sonny Werblin graduated from Rutgers University and was employed by the Music Corporation of America, eventually becoming president of the company’s television division.[73] With a vast knowledge of media, Werblin was determined to put the spotlight on the team.[73] His first order of business, after changing the team’s name and jerseys, was to sign Joe Namath to an unprecedented contract.[73] Werblin’s gamble would later pay off as Namath, who became a public star, led the Jets on to victory in Super Bowl III, though by then Werblin had sold his stake in the team.[73]
Werblin’s partners, Townsend B. Martin, Leon Hess, Donald C. Lillis, and Philip H. Iselin, had a falling out with Werblin over the way the team was run—though the franchise had begun to make a profit, Werblin was making all the policies and decisions himself with little or no input from his partners, much to their dismay.[74] Though Werblin initially resisted their ultimatum to dissolve the partnership,[74] Werblin agreed to be bought out in 1968.[73] Werblin remained involved in the sports community and became the first chairman and CEO of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority where he helped to create the Meadowlands Sports Complex, including Giants Stadium.[73]
Leon Hess
Leon Hess became well known for his Hess Corporation gas stations; however, he also played an instrumental part in the development of the Jets during his tenure as co-owner and eventual sole owner. Hess had often fought for improvements while the team was a tenant at Shea Stadium but generally stayed away from football operations, allowing his coaches and general manager to make football-related decisions.[75]
Becoming the team’s majority stockholder in 1973, Hess bought Philip H. Iselin’s share upon his death in 1976 after which only two of Hess’ partners remained, Townsend Martin and Helen Dillon, who had inherited the stake from her father Donald Lillis, upon his death.[76] Hess began to buy out the remaining partners in 1981 when he bought Martin’s 25% stake for $5 million.[77] Hess bought Dillon’s stake three years later for another $5 million, acquiring sole control of the team.[77]
Hess had a passion for his team and took losses hard.[75] In 1995, following a mediocre 6–10 season under Pete Carroll, despite generally shying away from football operations, Hess announced “I’m 80 years old, I want results now” during a conference in which Rich Kotite was introduced as the team’s new coach.[75] After two unsuccessful years with Kotite, Hess heavily involved himself in hiring Bill Parcells in hopes to see his team again reach the Super Bowl. He did not live to see his dream realized, dying on May 7, 1999.[75]
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Woody Johnson
With the team for sale, two potential buyers were found in Cablevision and billionaire heir Woody Johnson, whose grandfather Robert Wood Johnson II was a member of the family that founded Johnson & Johnson.[78] Johnson was unknown among the other NFL owners at the time of his $635 million purchase of the franchise.[78] However, Johnson had a passion for sports according to former Knicks general manager Ernie Grunfeld and desired to own his own team.[78] Johnson has been considered to be an enabler who wants the best from his employees.[78]
Much like Hess, Johnson left many of the football related decisions up to his management team and tended to avoid the spotlight. However, upon hiring head coach Rex Ryan, Johnson had an increased presence as he molded the Jets into his team.[78][79][80]
Christopher Johnson
In 2017, Woody Johnson was appointed by President Donald Trump as the United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom.[81] Once his post was confirmed, his brother Christopher Johnson became a co-owner and took over the day-to-day operations for the team, including personnel decisions.[82] Woody Johnson’s term as ambassador ended in 2021, and he took over ownership duties from Christopher.[83]
Stadiums
Owner Harry Wismer sought out a place for the team to play their home games but was only able to secure the dilapidated Polo Grounds, which had not had a major tenant since the baseball New York Giants vacated the stadium in 1957. The Titans played their first four seasons at the stadium—in the final season they were renamed the Jets. The Titans shared the stadium with baseball’s new expansion team, the New York Mets, for two years before both teams moved to Shea Stadium in Queens in 1964. The Jets hold the distinction of being the final team to host a game at the Polo Grounds, a 19–10 loss to the Buffalo Bills on December 14, 1963.[84]
Wismer hoped the then Titans could play in what would become known as Shea Stadium beginning in 1961.[85] However, funding difficulties and legal problems delayed construction of the stadium.[85] Wismer signed a memorandum of understanding in late 1961 to secure the Titans’ new home.[85] That memorandum recognized that the Mets would have exclusive use of the stadium until they had completed their season. As the team moved to Shea under new ownership, they were, in most years, required to open the season with several road games, a problem made worse in 1969 and 1973 when the Mets had long playoff runs.[85][86]
Feeling that this arrangement put the Jets at a disadvantage, the team announced in 1977 that they would play two home games a year during the month of September at the Giants’ new home in New Jersey, Giants Stadium. Litigation began between New York City and the Jets over the issue, and in the lawsuit’s settlement, the city agreed to allow the Jets to play two September home games a season at Shea beginning in 1978 for the remaining six years in the Jets’ lease. In 1977, the Jets were to play one September game at Giants Stadium and an October 2 game at Shea.[87]
In spite of these issues, majority owner Leon Hess was interested in renewing the team’s lease at Shea, which was due to expire in 1983. Hess negotiated with New York mayor Ed Koch.[88] Hess wanted the city to redevelop the stadium to expand its capacity. He also hoped to renegotiate other aspects of the lease—the Jets received no money from ticketholders parking at Shea. Hess’s proposals met resistance from Koch.[88] When negotiations reached an impasse, the Jets announced their intention to depart for New Jersey.[88] On December 10, 1983, the Jets played their final game at Shea and lost to the Steelers 34–7.[86] As fans pillaged the stadium for mementos, the scoreboard read “N.J. Jets” in reference to the Jets’ departure to the Meadowlands.[86]
When the Jets joined the Giants at the stadium, many Jets fans hoped the name, Giants Stadium, would be changed. However, the Giants, who had the authority to approve the change, refused.[89] In an effort to conceal the fact that they played in a stadium built and decorated for another team, the stadium grounds crew was assigned to make the stadium more Jet-friendly during Jets games by putting up green banners and placing the Jets’ logo over the Giants’. No change could be made to the blue and red seating bowl.[89] The Jets were featured in the first NFL playoff game in the stadium’s history, falling to the Patriots on December 28, 1985.[89]
As the Jets sought to become a stronger franchise and remove themselves from their counterparts’ shadow, the team entered into negotiations with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in an attempt to build a stadium on the west side of Manhattan, entering a bidding war with TransGas Energy Systems and Cablevision for the rights to the West Side Yard property—Hess, prior to his death, had been approached by former mayor Rudy Giuliani about bringing the team to the West Side when their lease at Giants Stadium expired in 2008.[90][91] Cablevision was fixated against the Jets owning the land as Madison Square Garden, located only a few blocks away, would be forced to compete with the stadium.[90] Team owners had voted, 31–1, with the Buffalo Bills the only objectors, to award the 2010 Super Bowl to New York contingent on the Jets winning the bid and completing construction of the stadium prior to 2010.[90]
The MTA unanimously voted to sell the land to the Jets for approximately $210 million as the committee agreed that having the stadium would be beneficial in the long run.[92] An angry Cablevision, community groups and transportation advocates were determined to derail the Jets’ attempts at building the stadium and two lawsuits challenging the construction of the stadium on environmental grounds were filed.[93]
Although confident they could secure the stadium, their hopes were dashed when Sheldon Silver and Joseph L. Bruno, both of whom held veto power over the stadium construction, refused to support the project, alleging it would hurt rather than help the development of the West Side.[93][94]
Defeated, the Jets agreed to enter a 50–50 joint venture with their rival, the Giants, to build a new stadium effectively agreeing to a 99-year lease, which the Giants had signed earlier in the year, to remain in New Jersey.[95] The stadium, known as MetLife Stadium, became the first in the history of the NFL to be jointly built by two franchises.[96] The stadium, which is illuminated in different colors depending on which team is hosting a game, opened in April 2010 and saw the Jets and Giants open the stadium together in a preseason exhibition game.[97][98] The Jets’ first regular season home game at the new stadium was held on September 13, 2010, and was shown nationwide on Monday Night Football. New York lost to the Ravens 10–9.[99] Team owners voted to have the stadium host Super Bowl XLVIII, held in 2014
