Football players are apparently cut from a different cloth: even the greatest among them often insist on shriveling up into pathetic, gray-whiskered old men, playing far below their standards in strange uniforms for lousy teams, as their careers fizzle out and die a sad, whimpering death for the whole world to see.
The images are often shocking. The sight of all those Brett Favre No. 4 Jets jerseys being sold on the internet last summer was as jarring as Joe Namath with Rams horns or a swift kick to the cojones. It's as if Jimmy Dean had lived and was remembered by kids today not as the Rebel Without a Cause, but as the old man who did all those elderly info-mercials.
Considering that Favre was Mr. Green Bay for 16 seasons, the image of him in a new shade of jade in the Big Apple made about as much sense as pastrami & wheat at the Carnegie Deli. And, of course, it all ended badly. In fact, it made about as much sense as the sickly, bed-ridden ways that all these legendary careers ended:
Marcus AllenFamous with the Raiders (1981-92) – The dual threat earned MVP honors in Super Bowl XVIII, led the league in rushing in 1985 (1,759 yards), ripped off a then-record 2,314 yards from scrimmage also in 1985 and was a five-time Pro Bowler.
Forgettable with the Chiefs (1993-97) – Allen's career fizzled to a inglorious end as he earned 1 Pro Bowl trip but peaked at 890 yards rushing and 1,110 yards from scrimmage, in each case half the output of his greatest years with the Raiders.
Earl CampbellFamous with the Oilers (1978-84) – The Texas phenom rushed for 1,450 yards, 1,697 yards, 1,934 yards and 1,376 yards in his first four years in the NFL and earned five Pro Bowl appearances in his six-and-a-half seasons in Houston.
Forgettable with the Saints (1984-85) – Campbell's career fizzled to a inglorious end as he picked up a meager 833 yards in 24 games with New Orleans.
Larry Csonka
Famous with the Dolphins (1968-75; 1979) – The hard-charging fullback won two Super
Bowls, was MVP of Super Bowl VIII, and was the top ballcarrier for one of the great ground attacks in NFL history with the Dolphins. With Mercury Morris in 1972, Csonka was part of the first backfield tandem to each reach 1,000 yards rushing, leading Miami to a 17-0 season.
Forgettable with the Giants (1976-78) – Csonka's career fizzled to an inglorious twilight with a peak of 569 yards rushing during his three seasons with the Giants, who never won more than six games during his time there. Csonka is most infamous in New York for the ball he never carried: he was supposed to take the handoff from quarterback Joe Pisarcik in a 1978 game against the Eagles that would have run out the clock on a victory. Instead, Pisarcik famously fumbled the ball away and watched Philly's Herm Edwards race into the end zone with it, in a game that came to symbolize the Giants futility of the 1970s.
Brett Favre
Famous with the Packers (1992-2007) – Favre's ascension to the role of starting quarterback in Green Bay
marked the dawn of the franchise's first period of extended success since the 1960s. From 1995 to 1997 he might have been the best quarterback in history, winning three straight NFL MVP awards along with a Super Bowl championship in 1996, while throwing 112 TDs against just 42 INTs over those three seasons. Favre set virtually every passing record in history in a Green Bay uniform, including yards (65,127), completions (5,377) and touchdown passes (442).
Forgettable with the Jets (2008) – Favre dabbled with retirement from 2004 to 2006, leaving the Packers in limbo each off-season. He finally called it quits for good at the end of 2007, only to decide that he wanted back in the game right before the 2008 season. The Packers said no. So Favre's career fizzled to an inglorious end at the Meadowlands, where he led the league with 22 INTs, padding his record total of 310, while adding 12 fumbles, to boost his career total to 157, the second most in history (Warren Moon, 161). He played poorly down the stretch, as the Jets stumbled through a 1-4 record in their last five games and missed the playoffs. Favre was then widely criticized by his teammates after the season ended ... something he never endured as Mr. Green Bay.
Franco Harris
Famous with the Steelers (1972-83) – The arrival of Harris and his Italian Army coincided with the dawn of the Pittsburgh dynasty: he was on the receiving end of the Immaculate Reception in the franchise's first ever postseason win at the end of his rookie year. He rushed for a team-record 11,950 yards, leading the Steelers in rushing every one of his 12 years, while winning four Super Bowls and earning MVP honors in Super Bowl IX, the organization's first NFL championship.
Forgettable with the Seahawks (1984) – Harris, like everyone else on the list, couldn't leave fame, fortune, a Hall of Fame career and a good-looking corpse of a legacy alone. His career fizzled to an inglorious end 2,500 miles away in Seattle, as he set career lows in every major category, including games (8), attempts (68), yards (170), yards per attempt (2.5) and TDs (0).
Vince LombardiFamous with the Packers (1959-67) – Lombardi appeared in six NFL championship games, winning five of them, including a record three straight, while building
the best winning percentage of any coach in league history.
Forgettable with the Redskins (1969) – Lombardi's career fizzled to an inglorious end as he fielded the single worst team of his career, a 7-5-2 (.536) club during his one lonely season in D.C.
Ronnie Lott
Famous with the 49ers (1981-90) – The hard-hitting cornerback and safety earned a reputation as one of the best DBs in the history of the game, with nine Pro Bowl appearances while helping lead San Francisco to four Super Bowl championships.
Forgettable with the Jets (1993-94) – After a two-year interregnum with the Raiders, Lott's career fizzled to an inglorious end as he picked off just three passes in two full seasons with New York.
Joe MontanaFamous with the 49ers (1979-92) – Montana was considered the best quarterback ever while leading San Francisco to four Super Bowl titles and then leaving the team with the highest passer rating in NFL history.
Forgettable with the Chiefs (1993-94) – Joe Cool guided the Chiefs to their first conference title game in more than two decades in 1993, but his Hall of Fame career fizzled to an inglorious end as the Chiefs went 9-7 in 1994 and Montana posted an 83.6 passer rating, among the lowest marks in his career.
Joe Namath
Famous with the Jets (1965-76) – Namath was the first player to pass for more than 4,000 yards in a season (4,007 in 1967) and led the Jets to a 16-7 win over the Colts in Super Bowl III, one of the most famous upsets in NFL history.
Forgettable with the Rams (1977) – Broadway Joe's legendary career fizzled to an inglorious end as he tossed 3 TDs and 5 picks in 4 games and 107 attempts in a Rams uniform.
Jerry RiceFamous with the 49ers (1985-2000) – Rice Broke virtually every receiving record known to man while winning three Super Bowls and serving as the top battery-mate for two Hall of Fame quarterbacks.
Forgettable with the Seahawks (2004) – Following three-plus years with the Raiders, Rice's career fizzled to an inglorious end in putrid sea-sick green with 25 catches for 362 yards and 3 TDs in 11 games in a Seattle uniform.
O.J. Simpson
Famous with the Bills (1969-77) – Simpson was the Chuck Yeager or ballcarriers, as the first running back to crack the 2,000-yard barrier (2,003 in 14 games in 1973). He dominated the game from 1972 to 1976, with 7,699 yards in just 70 games and became one of the most visible athletes in the nation – a near miracle for a guy who played in the Podunk-town of Buffalo.
Forgettable with the 49ers (1978-79) – Simpson's career fizzled to an inglorious end with just 1,053 yards and 4 TDs in his two years in San Francisco – he set career lows with 3.7 and 3.8 YPA during those two seasons. He's had better luck finding his wife's real killer than he had with the Niners.
Emmitt SmithFamous with the Cowboys (1990-2002) – Smith was the most durable back in league history, topping 1,000 yards 11 straight seasons from 1991 to 2001 and capturing the all-time rushing crown, while helping Dallas become the first team to win three Super Bowls in four years.
Forgettable with the Cardinals (2003-04) – You know a guy is hanging on too long when he leaves America's Team for
America's Laughingstock. Smith's career fizzled to an inglorious end with 1,193 yards and 11 TDs over two seasons in Arizona. He averaged 2.8 and 3.5 YPA in those two years, the two lowest marks of his career.
Ken StablerFamous with the Raiders (1970-79) – With John Madden, Stabler formed one of the most successful QB-coach combos in NFL history, winning 69 of his 96 starts with the Raiders, capturing a Lombardi Trophy with a win over the Vikings in Super Bowl XI and producing one of
the greatest single passing seasons in history, with a 103.4 passer rating in 1976 – a season in which the league-wide rating was just 67.0.
Forgettable with the Saints (1982-84) – Following a stopover in Houston for two years, Stabler's career fizzled to an inglorious end in the museum of pro football futility that is New Orleans, winning 11 of 22 starts while tossing just 15 TDs and 28 INTs.
Jim TaylorFamous with the Packers (1958-66) – Taylor was the drivetrain that powered the famous Packers ground game of the 1960s, leading the team in rushing every year from 1960 to 1966, winning four championships, and setting the white-guy rushing record with 1,474 yards in 1962.
Forgettable with the Saints (1967) – Taylor was a trend-setter, becoming the first Hall of Famer in a long line of them whose careers fizzled to an inglorious end in the pigskin cesspool of New Orleans. Taylor rushed for 2 TDs and 390 yards on 130 attempts in 1967, a career low of 3.0 YPA.
Johnny Unitas
Famous with the Colts (1956-72) – Johnny U. dragged the passing game into the modern era: he was the first passer to top the 3,000-yard mark (3,099 in 1960), he led the league in TD passes every year from 1957 to 1960, and he tossed TDs in a (still) record 47 straight games from 1956 to 1960, while guiding the Colts to back-to-back championships in 1958 and 1959, including victory in "
The Best Game Ever."
Forgettable with the Chargers (1973) – One of the greatest careers in history fizzled to an inglorious end with four pathetic games in baby blue, as Unitas passed for 471 yards, 3 TDs, 7 INTs and posted a career-low 40.0 passer rating.
Reggie WhiteFamous with the Eagles (1985-92) and Packers (1993-98) – White may be the best defensive lineman of the Super Bowl Era, as a three-time Defensive Player of the Year (1987, 1991, 1998) and 13-time Pro Bowler. White averaged 13.8 sacks per year in his 14 seasons in Philly and Green Bay, while helping lead the Packers to a Super Bowl title in 1996.
Forgettable with the Panthers (2000) – After a one-year hiatus on the messianic-studies circuit, White returned to the NFL for one more year, where his career fizzled to an inglorious end with a career-low 5.5 sacks for the 7-9 Panthers.
James Dean had it all figured out: he died in a fiery crash at the height of his fame and in the prime of his youthful good looks. We never saw him shrivel into an old man, wearing grown-up diapers and eating mush through a feeding tube. He died young and left behind a good-looking corpse, as the saying goes. 
