Super Bowl III Was Fixed?

The January 1969 Super Bowl III pitted the Baltimore Colts of the well-established National Football League against the New York Jets of the fledgling American Football League. At the time, the two leagues were considering a merger, but it was agreed that the AFL first had to "establish credibility." The Colts were heavily favored but Jets quarterback Joe Namath famously "guaranteed" a win. He was right. The Jets' 16-7 victory established the AFL's cred, the leagues merged soon after, and the rest is history. But the late Bubba Smith, a Colts player, claimed the game was fixed for the Jets so the multimillion dollar merger could go through.