Jets debut throwback uniforms paying homage to ‘New York Sack Exchange’

When Aaron Rodgers makes his New York Jets regular-season debut on Sept. 11 against the Buffalo Bills, he’ll do so in a throwback uniform.

The Jets are bringing back their early 1980s white uniform and retro fighter jet logo for two prime-time home games this season, the team announced Sunday. The jerseys are meant to evoke the era of the “New York Sack Exchange,” when a fearsome Jets defensive front led by linemen Mark Gastineau and Joe Klecko powered the team’s success, including a run to the 1982 AFC Championship Game.

Klecko is a 2023 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee and will be enshrined the weekend after the Jets face the Cleveland Browns in the Hall of Fame Game on Aug. 3 to kick off the NFL preseason. Gastineau is the team’s all-time sacks leader with 107.5.

The Jets will wear the throwback uniforms during two marquee early-season matchups, against the defending AFC East-champion Bills on Monday Night Football to open the season, and against the reigning Super Bowl-champion Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday Night Football on Oct. 1.

MetLife Stadium will also get the throwback treatment for those games with the old logo at midfield, team owner Woody Johnson announced. The field usually has a generic NFL logo in the middle as the Jets and New York Giants share the stadium.

The Jets are entering their most anticipated season in years after the blockbuster offseason trade for four-time NFL MVP Rodgers, who elevates the team’s QB play and complements a young, talented core of skill-position players. Fans (and some players themselves) who were already excited for the upcoming season appear even more so after seeing the jerseys.

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