American football player and executive (born 1960)
American football player
John Elway
Elway in 2021
No. 7
Position:
Quarterback
Personal information
Born:
(1960-06-28) June 28, 1960 (age 63) Port Angeles, Washington, U.S.
Height:
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:
215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High school:
Granada Hills (Los Angeles, California)
College:
Stanford (1979–1982)
NFL draft:
1983 / Round: 1 / Pick: 1
Career history
As a player:
Denver Broncos (1983–1998)
As an executive:
Denver Broncos (2011–2020) General manager/Executive VP of football operations
Denver Broncos (2021) President of football operations
Denver Broncos (2022) Consultant
As an administrator:
Colorado Crush (2003–2008) Co-owner/CEO
Career highlights and awards
As a player
2× Super Bowl champion (XXXII, XXXIII)
Super Bowl MVP (XXXIII)
NFL Most Valuable Player (1987)
NFL Man of the Year (1992)
3× Second-team All-Pro (1987, 1993, 1996)
9× Pro Bowl (1986, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1996–1998)
NFL passing yards leader (1993)
NFL 1990s All-Decade Team
NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team
Denver Broncos Ring of Fame
Denver Broncos No. 7 retired
Sammy Baugh Trophy (1982)
Unanimous All-American (1982)
Third-team All-American (1980)
2× Pac-10 Player of the Year (1980, 1982)
2× All-Pac-10 (1980, 1982)
Stanford Cardinal No. 7 retired
As an executive
Super Bowl champion (50)
ArenaBowl champion (XIX)
Career NFL statistics
Passing attempts:
7,250
Passing completions:
4,123
Completion percentage:
56.9%
TD–INT:
300–226
Passing yards:
51,475
Passer rating:
79.9
Rushing yards:
3,407
Rushing touchdowns:
33
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR
Executive profile at PFR
Pro Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
John Albert Elway Jr. (born June 28, 1960) is an American former professional football quarterback who spent his entire 16-year career with the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). Following his playing career, he then spent 11 years with the Broncos in various front office positions, eventually being promoted to general manager. Elway, along with former backup quarterback and head coach Gary Kubiak, are the only individuals to be associated with all three of the Broncos' Super Bowl wins.
Elway is widely regarded as one of the best quarterbacks in the history of the sport.[1][2][3][4][5] At the time of his retirement in early 1999, Elway had the most victories by a starting quarterback and was statistically the second most prolific passer in NFL history. He was also a prolific rusher of the ball, being one of only two players to score a rushing touchdown in four different Super Bowls (the other being Thurman Thomas) and the only quarterback to do so.[6][7]
While playing college football at Stanford, Elway set several career records for passing attempts and completions and also received unanimous All-American honors. He was the first selection in the 1983 NFL draft, famously known as the "quarterback class of 1983", where he was taken by the Baltimore Colts before being traded to the Denver Broncos. In January 1987, Elway embarked on one of the most notable performances in sports and in NFL history, helping engineer a 98-yard, game-tying touchdown drive in the AFC Championship Game against the Cleveland Browns, a moment later dubbed "The Drive". Following that game in Cleveland, Elway and the Broncos lost in Super Bowl XXI to the New York Giants.
After two more Super Bowl losses, the Broncos entered a period of decline; however, that ended during the 1997 season, as Elway and Denver won their first Super Bowl title by defeating the Green Bay Packers 31–24 in Super Bowl XXXII. The Broncos repeated as champions the following season in Super Bowl XXXIII by defeating the Atlanta Falcons 34–19. Elway was named MVP of that Super Bowl, which was the last game of his career, and in doing so Elway set a then-record five Super Bowl starts which was broken in February 2015 when Tom Brady of the New England Patriots started Super Bowl XLIX. After his retirement as a player, Elway served as general manager and executive vice president of football operations of the Broncos, which won four division titles, two AFC Championships, and Super Bowl 50 during his tenure, making Elway a three-time Super Bowl Champion with the Broncos - two as a player and one as an executive. Elway was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2000 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2004.
^Bruton, Michelle (August 28, 2017). "The Top 10 Quarterbacks of All Time". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on August 28, 2017. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
^Harrison, Elliot (July 2, 2019). "Top 25 quarterbacks of all time: Patriots' Tom Brady leads list". NFL.com. Archived from the original on August 13, 2022. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
^Teets, Sam (June 23, 2020). "The Greatest NFL Quarterbacks Of All-Time, Ranked 20-1". ClutchPoints. Archived from the original on February 20, 2022. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
^Clayton, John (January 30, 2017). "Clayton's GOAT quarterback ranking". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on October 23, 2021. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
^Healy, John (January 29, 2022). "From Elway to Brady, ranking the 10 greatest NFL quarterbacks of all time". Audacy. Archived from the original on August 18, 2022. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
John Albert Elway Jr. (born June 28, 1960) is an American former professional football quarterback who spent his entire 16-year career with the Denver...
John Albert Elway Sr. (May 30, 1931 – April 15, 2001) was an American football player and coach. He was the head coach at California State University...
championship after suffering four previous Super Bowl losses, three of which under Elway, and snapped a 13-game losing streak for AFC teams in the Super Bowl (the...
class of 1983, because six quarterbacks were taken in the first round — JohnElway, Todd Blackledge, Jim Kelly, Tony Eason, Ken O'Brien, and Dan Marino —...
JohnElway via the notes that he wrote in real time starting in the months leading up to the draft. The film covers the battle between Demoff, Elway and...
have nine primary members enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame: JohnElway, Floyd Little, Shannon Sharpe, Gary Zimmerman, Terrell Davis, Champ Bailey...
appearance since the 1977 season. Led largely through the play of quarterback JohnElway and a defense that led the AFC in fewest yards allowed, the Broncos posted...
XXXIII and Super Bowl 50. Their most famous player is former quarterback JohnElway, starting quarterback in five Super Bowls and holder of many NFL records...
after also posting a 14–2 regular season record. Aided by quarterback JohnElway's 80-yard touchdown pass to receiver Rod Smith, Denver scored 17 consecutive...
players have finished second in Heisman voting six times: quarterback JohnElway was second to Herschel Walker in 1982; running back Toby Gerhart was second...
regular season record, largely through the strength of their quarterback, JohnElway. The Redskins, who were making their fourth Super Bowl appearance, posted...
appeared in several television commercials for the league, typically with JohnElway, Hall of Fame quarterback for the Denver Broncos (and co-owner of the...
touchdowns, while also returning 12 punts for 118 yards. However, quarterback JohnElway played inconsistently during the regular season, throwing just as many...
to sign with the CFL team Montreal Alouettes over the Buffalo Bills. JohnElway was subsequently traded to the Denver Broncos after being drafted by the...
overall pick by Denver, where he played from 1983 to 1991 as the backup to JohnElway. Earlier in his coaching career, Kubiak served as an assistant coach for...
England Patriots Biography Archived 2005-03-05 at the Wayback Machine JohnElway Biography Bradshaw's Career Stats "Joe Montana – NFL Career Achievements"...
Sports Net in 2002. She has interviewed subjects such as Tiger Woods, JohnElway, and Chuck Liddell, and has reported from such events as the Super Bowl...
Manning claimed his 34th comeback win in the fourth quarter, tying him with JohnElway and Johnny Unitas for the second most in NFL history. In week 15 against...
Mike Dailey and owned by a coalition of Denver sports figures led by JohnElway. Negotiations with a Denver ownership group were underway for a future...
Broncos quarterback JohnElway for the most franchise wins by a rookie QB with four, only needing five games to accomplish the feat that Elway did not reach...
118°31′28″W / 34.259671°N 118.524526°W / 34.259671; -118.524526 The JohnElway Stadium is a 4,000-seat sports stadium on the campus of Granada Hills...
widespread use by the early 1980s to describe both star rookies like JohnElway and Kelvin Bryant and veterans like George Brett. While the term is primarily...
player to their 1983 roster. The Colts used the top pick on JohnElway of Stanford. Elway, however, refused to play for the Colts and even considered...
ring with the Broncos in his rookie season, as a backup to JohnElway in Super Bowl XXXIII. Elway retired after the Super Bowl and Griese became the starting...
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