Brett Favre holds up his new New York Jets jersey at Cleveland Browns Stadium before an NFL exhibition game between the Jets and the Cleveland Browns yesterday. Favre was traded from the Green Bay Packers to the Jets earlier in the day. - AP

CLEVELAND (AP):

BRETT FAVRE held up his new green jersey yesterday evening, hoping he made the right decision.

"To a certain degree, I don't know what I'm getting into," he said.

Favre's summertime soap opera ended on 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.

"I'm here for one reason. Not to do commercials, Broadway all those things," Favre said after joining New York for their exhibition game in Cleveland. "I'm here to help the Jets win."

It's not certain when the three-time MVP will be ready to play. But he assured it will be soon.

"I'm a little out of shape, compared to the other guys," he said.

Bringing publicity

Five months after a tearful goodbye to a Hall of Fame career, Favre, who won a Super Bowl title and set all sorts of records in 16 seasons before his acrimonious split with the Packers, is now part of a Jets team that went 4-12 last season.

"It's like a marriage that ends," Packers president Mark Murphy said. "It happens. Neither party is at fault."

Favre spent the night at his home near Hattiesburg, Mississippi, before flying to New Jersey to meet Jets officials. They then boarded a charter for Cleveland.

"The last 24 hours have been crazy," Favre said.

For the moment, Favre brings publicity to the Jets - they're second stringers in the New York area, far overshadowed by the champion Giants.

Already, his jersey is being scooped up by fans who awakened yesterday morning to the news that the Mississippi country boy with the cannon right arm is on his way to the big city.

Told that 3,000 new jerseys had been sold online, he joked, "That's all?"

Draft pick

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 yesterday 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.