NAMATH THROWS IT OUT THERE

Jets legend

used sex to make his point at

Hope for Depression Research Foundation dinner in Palm Beach.

“Americans love football because it’s a combination of brute strength, strategy and sex,” the 74-year-old Pro Football Hall of Famer (above) said to an amused crowd at Club Collette. “Well, not really sex. I just say that to keep everyone’s attention.”

Broadway Joe then turned serious, discussing head injuries in the NFL and the hyperbaric oxygen treatments at the Juniper Medical Center that he credits for helping him stay sharp. “Our maker did a great job with these bodies of ours, but we are not designed to hit our heads on the ground,” he said.

Namath, who also stimulates his brain with art, will be in the Big Apple on May 3 for

Art New York, featuring 1,200 artists from 30 countries.