Trouble at the Nightclub

Namath owned a stake in the Manhattan night club Bachelors III, but then-commissioner Pete Rozelle, citing restrictions in Namath's contract, ordered him to sell his share after discovering the presence of alleged Mafia members at the club. Namath called the commissioner's bluff, suddenly retiring, rather than being pushed around. Rozelle and Namath eventually met and came to an agreement that Namath could maintain ownership in two other clubs by the same name in Miami and Boston, but had to sell his stake in the New York location. Namath rescinded his retirement after just two weeks.