Jets legends Darrelle Revis and Joe Klecko take their place in Pro Football’s Hall of Fame

Darrelle Revis grew up a basketball fan in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania.

As he officially became a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday afternoon, he compared two great basketball favorites to his idol.

“What [Michael] Jordan is for Kobe [Bryant], Prime [Deion Sanders] is to Revis Island,” Revis said, referring to the nickname he earned as one of the greatest cornerbacks in league history.

On stage in Canton, Ohio, Revis was joined by his mother, Diana Askew, as they both unveiled his bust that will be placed in the pro football shine. He also thanked his family, including his uncle Sean Gilbert who played 11 seasons in the NFL.

Then with plenty of Jets fans in attendance — Gang Green defensive star Joe Klecko also took his rightful spot in the Hall after a three-decade wait — a tearful Revis began his speech by saying basketball was his first love as he hoped to one day become a player in the NBA and possibly one day be inducted into The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass.

Instead of playing on the hardwood, Revis became an all-time great cornerback on the gridiron. After a standout career at the University of Pittsburgh, the Jets selected Revis with the 14th overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft.

It didn’t take Revis long to make a significant impact on the field. He was selected to his first Pro Bowl in his second year in the league. In his third season, Revis was established as arguably the best cornerback in the NFL and began a run of being named to three consecutive first-team All-Pro teams. That’s when he earned the nickname “Revis Island.”

“Life is shaped by the choices we make, but there is one thing we cannot choose,” Revis said. “Where we come from is chosen for us. No one has control over when they’re born, what family they’re born into, or where they start.

“But these things have a profound impact on every decision we make and who we become. The conditions had to be just right for me to end up here. Every moment, every opportunity perfectly aligned.”

In addition to his family, Revis also thanked former Jets coach Rex Ryan, who called him the best cornerback in football before the two had even met in 2009. With Ryan’s defensive blueprint and Revis’ superb cornerback skills, the Jets made back-to-back AFC Championship appearances after the 2009 and 2010 seasons.

“After our first meeting, I was convinced I would play my heart out for him,” Revis said. “He was crafting a winning culture and he told me he was confident I was the guy to set the tone for the rest of the team.

“Rex, thank you for seeing something special in me and motivating me to live up to that potential.”

During his 11-year career, Revis made seven Pro Bowls and was part of the all-decade team of the 2010s. He also won a Super Bowl with the New England Patriots in 2014.

Revis was joined Saturday by Klecko, the leader of the vaunted New York Sack Exchange. Klecko, who was drafted by the Jets in the sixth-round out of Temple in 1977, also received his gold jacket and bust in Canton after waiting 30 years since he was first eligible to be elected.

Jets teammate Marty Lyons presented Klecko on stage as the two walked to the unveiling of Klecko’s bust on stage before his own emotional speech.

“I grew up in the streets of a tough town and I used to get my butt kicked when I was a kid,” said Klecko, who grew up in Chester, Penn. “Fighting was part of life. And I didn’t feel like there was anybody out there that I was going to take it from. I never made that my badge of courage or something like that.

“It’s just how I played the game.”

During his 12-year career, mainly with the Jets before playing his final season with the Colts in 1988, Klecko recorded 78 career sacks and is the only player in NFL history to be selected to the Pro Bowl at three different positions. He played at defensive end, defensive tackle and nose tackle.

Klecko’s best season came before sacks were an official stat in 1982. Klecko was credited with a career-high 20.5 sacks in 1981 and was runner-up for the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year to the Giants superstar Lawrence Taylor.

“The only thing that was important to me at the time, really, was winning,” Klecko said. “Wherever I played or played hurt or whatever I did, I did for us to win the football game.”

After thanking current and former members of the Jets organization, Klecko said he wished he was born later in life because of all the rich contracts the players receive nowadays.

“Honestly, I wish I could play today,” Klecko said. “Not so much for the competition, but for the money.

“In 1986, I was the highest-paid defensive lineman in the league, I made $700,000. Today, Aaron Donald is the highest-paid defensive lineman, he makes $31.7 million. My entire salary was his point-seven.

“I asked him to send me some, but that didn’t work either.”

— With News Wire Services