John Elway

John Elway Speaker Biography

NFL Hall of Fame Quarterback

John Elway is known as one of the greatest quarterbacks ever to play the game of football. He is currently executive vice president of football operations and general manager of the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL).

Records

Elway played college football at Stanford and his entire 16-year professional career with the Denver Broncos. At the time of his retirement in early 1999, Elway recorded the most victories by a starting quarterback and statistically was the second most prolific passer in NFL history. He was also a prolific rusher of the ball, being one of only two players ever to score a rushing touchdown in four different Super Bowls (the other being Thurman Thomas) and the only quarterback to do so. Elway set several career records for passing attempts and completions while at Stanford and also received 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.

The Drive

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. The moment is known in National Football League lore as “The Drive.” Following that game in Cleveland, Elway and the Broncos lost in Super Bowl XXI to the New York Giants.

Superbowls

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 voted 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. As Denver’s quarterback, Elway led his teams to six AFC Championship Games and five Super Bowls, winning two.

General Manager

After his retirement as a player, he 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. Following the 2020 season, Elway announced that he would step down as general manager but continue to serve as the Broncos’ president of football operations. He was succeeded as general manager by George Paton. In February 2022, Elway took on a new position as an outside consultant that reports directly to Paton. As of April 2023, Elway had no contractual affiliation with the Denver Broncos and his official role with the club had ended.

Hall of Fame

Elway was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2004 in his first year of eligibility.

Charity

Since his rookie year, John Elway has been very active in the Denver community. In 1987 John decided to start his charity foundation, the Elway Foundation, to join with the community’s efforts to eliminate the dreadful crime of child abuse. John recognized that child abuse was a growing issue in our society and was affecting more and more lives. He made the decision to concentrate the Elway Foundation’s efforts in the area of the treatment and prevention of child abuse and to hopefully prevent future generations from becoming victims of this horrible crime.

The Heroes Foundation

John Elway’s second charity is The Heroes Foundation.  Heroes Foundation was created to provide support and funding to America’s heroes and their families. Heroes exist everywhere. The Foundation strives to encourage American pride and assist those Heroes, past and present, who contribute to improving society and defending our country’s freedoms. The Foundation will fund numerous programs which recognize the extraordinary sacrifices people make to in order to keep our country great.

7Cellars

7Cellars was founded by professional football icon John Elway, and his long-time business partner, Jeff Sperbeck. With the success of Elway’s Steakhouses, John wanted to create a wine that would live up to his ideals and be a proud representation of his family’s name. They partnered with iconic winemaker Rob Mondavi, Jr. to release the company’s first vintage of Reserve wines, with a 2013 Cabernet and a 2014 Chardonnay. After five successful and sold out vintages of the Reserve, 7Cellars expanded. The Farm Collection was released in March of 2020. This collection is offered at a more approachable price point, but with the same superior quality for which the brand is known. Both Elway’s Reserve and The Farm Collection wines are found in retail stores and served in top restaurants and event venues across the country.