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CLEVELAND (AP) - Off the couch and out of the cold, Brett Favre is slipping on a new jersey.
Favre's summertime soap opera ended Wednesday night when the Green Bay Packers traded their iconic quarterback to the New York Jets, who haven't had a star of No. 4's stature since the days Joe Namath was slinging passes and strolling down Broadway.
Brett's a Jet, until the day he retires - again.
"It's like a marriage that ends," Packers president Mark Murphy said Thursday. "It happens. Neither party is at fault."
Favre, who announced his NFL playing career was over in March, was expected to be introduced at a 6 p.m. news conference at Cleveland Browns Stadium before the Jets played their first exhibition game.
Needing to get up to speed with the Jets' offensive playbook, Favre wanted to join his new team as quickly as possible so he can get ready for the club's season opener against the Miami Dolphins on Sept. 7.
He spent the night at his home near Hattiesburg, Miss., before flying to New Jersey to meet with Jets officials.
Five months after a tearful goodbye to a Hall of Fame career, Favre, who won a Super Bowl title and three MVP awards in 16 seasons before his acrimonious split with the Packers, is joining a Jets team which went 4-12 last season.
For the moment, Favre brings the Jets publicity - second stringers in the New York area, they're far overshadowed by the champion Giants.
Already, his jersey is being scooped up by fans who awakened Thursday morning to the news that the Mississippi country boy with the cannon right arm is on his way to the big city.
Until the deal was announced, it appeared the 38-year-old might be on his way to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But the Jets, who went to camp with Chad Pennington and Kellen Clemens battling to be the starter, persisted and landed Favre for a fourth-round draft pick in 2009.
Pennington, benched midway through last season, was released Thursday afternoon.
A draft pick is hardly a steep price for a player who holds league records in career yards (61,655), touchdowns (442), wins (160) and hasn't missed a start in 275 consecutive games.
