Broncos’ Elway Not Sure if He’ll Play Out Contract

John Elway, just a month shy of his 30th birthday, says he doesn’t know if he will fulfill the four years remaining on the six-year, $12.7-million contract he signed in September, 1987.

“I don’t know,” Elway told The Denver Post when asked if he planned to play through the end of his contract with the Denver Broncos. The Post interview was published in today’s editions.

“I’m giving you a serious answer. I’m just taking it year-by-year right now. It all depends on how everything goes.”

Although he does not know how much longer he will play, he said he has not thought about when he may retire.

“I’m not planning on retiring,” Elway said. “If you ask me if I’m thinking about that, the answer is no.”

Elway turns 30 on June 28, and he would be 33 after the 1993 season, when his contract expires.

When Elway signed the six-year contract, he was the highest-paid player in NFL history, but he now ranks no higher than seventh in the league.

He said he is not concerned about the situation because of his close relationship with team owner Pat Bowlen.

“It’s not going to hold me out or anything,” he said. “I would never do anything like that to Mr. Bowlen. Yeah, I’ve thought about Jeff George getting what he got ($2.5 million per year compared to Elway’s $2.12 million). But that’s as far as it’s gone. It’s not going to be a stumbling block or anything like that.”

Bowlen said earlier this year that he would make sure Elway’s contract fell into line with the highest-paid players in the league sometime in the future.

On Tuesday, Bowlen told The Post, “Nothing has changed from what I said a couple of months ago. John and I know what’s going on in the league. John still has four years left on his contract, but John and I understand each other.

“Maybe 12 to 18 months from now, we’ll sit down and talk about it. You can’t always be the highest-paid guy all the time. I think John understands that. Those things happen. I don’t think John is worried about it, and I know I’m not worried about it.”