His contract has expired. His years with the Broncos are over.
Hall of Fame quarterback and former Broncos G.M. John Elway is finally putting football in the rear-view mirror, at age 62.
“I don’t have that desire to climb another mountain again,” Elway told Woody Paige of the Denver Gazette. “I’ve been to the summit a bunch of times in 62 years.”
He’s out. It’s over. And he no longer has any desire to be involved in the ownership of an NFL franchise.
“I’ve got the restaurants and car dealerships and other [businesses] to keep me busy enough,” Elway told Paige.
He does have one other thing he has wanted to do, for well over a decade: “I’d like to be the villain in a cowboy movie,” Elway told Paige when he turned 50. Elway reiterated it in his latest talk with Paige. (Maybe the Duke of Denver could play the Duck of Death.)
“I still would like to be in a cowboy movie, but I’m a bit old,” Elway said. “They aren’t making many Westerns any more. Maybe I’ll call Kevin Costner and get a part in Yellowstone TV series.”
As to the Broncos, Elway said “it was time to step aside and let all the new people take over,” after 28 years with the organization over four decades.
“I’ll always be a Bronco and a fan, and I told [CEO] Greg Penner I’m here if they call on me for anything,” Elway said.
He leaves with three Super Bowl wins on his record, two as a player and one as the G.M. It came two years after a drubbing against the Seahawks.
“After the blowout I knew we had to drastically improve the defense,” Elway said. “We got DeMarcus Ware, Aqib [Talib], T.J. Ward, and exceptionally good draft picks, and we won the Super Bowl with defense,” Elway said.
Now, he’s playing offense, trying to get the most out of what he calls his QTR: “Quality Time Remaining.”
If it’s even half as good as the quality time he had with the Broncos, it’ll be a rewarding retirement.