Joe Namath is keepin' it classy when it comes to Alabama losing in the National Championship game -- congratulating Clemson for simply outplaying his alma mater.
"Never like losing," Namath said on his way out of CBS in New York ... "We got outplayed and that's the way it goes."
"Congratulations to Clemson."
Namath says the 44 to 16 loss to Clemson wasn't exactly heartbreaking -- probably because Bama has won FIVE national titles since 2009 ... not bad.
By the way, Namath was a beast at Bama back in the day ... starting at QB for the Tide in 1962 (as a sophomore) under legendary head coach Bear Bryant.
Namath went 29-4 in his 3 seasons at Bama ... and led the team to a national championship in 1964.