Jets now own the longest playoff drought in the four major sports leagues after Kings clinched

Being a New York Jets fan hasn't been easy recently. The last time the team made the playoffs, Oprah was still on network television and no one had heard of Adele.

In case you don't measure your life in significant pop culture moments, the year was 2010. Mark Sanchez was the team's quarterback and NFL Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlinson led the Jets in rushing. The team's leading receiver that year? It was Braylon Edwards, of course.

It's 2023 now, meaning the Jets have not made the playoffs in 12 NFL seasons. That doesn't feel that long, but it's long enough to give the team the longest playoff drought among the four major sports leagues.

The team inherited that curse after the Sacramento Kings clinched a playoff spot Wednesday. The Kings had not reached the playoffs since 2006.

The Jets have came close to reaching the postseason in 2015, when the team went 10-6 and somehow missed out. More often than not, however, the Jets have been really bad. Since 2015, the team has won more than five games in a season just twice.

Jets looking to turn things around in 2023

Things are finally looking up in New York. The Jets brought in some fantastic young talent in the 2022 NFL Draft and have a strong young core of players to build around in Ahmad Gardner, Breece Hall and Garrett Wilson. The team showed improvement last season, finishing 7-10. That wasn't good enough to lift the Jets out of the cellar in the AFC South, unfortunately.

But that could change in 2023. The Jets' biggest weakness is quarterback. Zach Wilson, who the team took with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, doesn't look like the answer. Perhaps because of that, the Jets are pursuing a trade for disgruntled Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. A deal appears likely. The Packers signaled they are moving on and Rodgers stated he wants to play for New York in 2023.

Rodgers is still capable of playing at a high level and represents a massive upgrade over Wilson. Acquiring Rodgers doesn't guarantee the playoff drought will end, but it puts the team in a much better position to pass this curse to a different franchise.