You might’ve just caught a succession of Super Bowl MVP’s being introduced at Ford Field (the kissing bandit, Joe Willie Namath shown above). Newsday’s Bob Glauber explains the reasons behind a couple of notable omissions.

Former 49ers quarterback Joe Montana and former Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw have decided to remain home. Bradshaw has told league officials that he wants to be with his family, even though his former team is in Super Bowl XL. Montana apparently was unwilling to come because the price wasn’t right.

According to a source familiar with Montana’s situation, the former three-time MVP asked that he be guaranteed $100,000 in appearance money during his time at the Super Bowl. The league could not accommodate that request, so Montana declined to be in attendance.

UPDATE : If you’re like me, you couldn’t help but admire Broadway Joe’s snazzy blazer that had a New York Jets logo on the inner lining — a nice subtle touch. As it turns out, the designer of said garment, NYC’s Pete Waldron, was profiled in yesterday’s NY Times by the much maligned (by me, anyway) Vincent M. Mallozzi.

(MONDAY, 02/06 UPDATE : Montana has refuted the above report).