After Winning the Big One, He Passed on the Chance to Go Out on Top

He’s not the old man, not as long as Warren Moon and Steve DeBerg remain employed, but as the NFL’s most distinguished elder, John Elway had taken the long journey and had the opportunity to walk away a world champion.

“There was some merit to doing just that,” Elway, 38, said. “No one had done it. I thought of that many times, just getting on the horse and riding off into the sunset. That sounded pretty good.

“But you know, why retire at the top? The thing I came to--you got a lot of life yet, another 30 or 40 years to live, and leaving a year early, something you’ve always enjoyed doing, why would anyone do that? Who knows, maybe we’ll go back and win another one, and then I can get on the horse and still ride off.”

Elway, beginning his 16th and final season in the NFL, labored over his decision to return, in part because before January’s Super Bowl victory over Green Bay he had already privately made the decision to retire.

So when he ran onto the field in Qualcomm Stadium, was he thinking, “This is my last game of football”?

“No, I wasn’t even thinking past that Sunday,” he said. “I could have died Monday and been fine after winning. But my life was that Sunday--my football career was riding on that Sunday because that’s how I was going to be judged for 15 years. Had we lost another one, they were just going to pin another tail on the donkey and say, that’s No. 4.”

Elway, a loser in three Super Bowls before slipping past Green Bay, had Hall of Fame credentials, although some critics were quick to point out he had never won the big game.

“I just said, please Lord, just give us a chance to be in the football game, give us a chance to win,” Elway said in recalling his thoughts before the Super Bowl. “In the other Super Bowls, we never even made it into the fourth quarter before being blown out.

“I can still remember running out onto the field with just a few minutes to go, saying, ‘Thank you, Lord, for giving us a chance. Now please help us get it into the end zone.’ ”

The Broncos got the ball into the end zone, the defense thwarted Brett Favre’s comeback and Elway began reconsidering his future.

“John would be sitting at the dinner table and his father would be at one end telling him he should retire and I’d be at the other telling him to come back,” said Elway’s wife, Janet.

Elway’s four children were also urging him to return, but Elway said he had to listen to his aging body, slow to recover after an exhibition season, regular season and postseason march to the Super Bowl.

In the end, those close to Elway say, there was one factor bigger than most and preying on his biggest weakness: a desire to make everyone happy. And so when it became obvious to Elway that team owner Pat Bowlen’s only chance to remain in control of the Broncos was to win a referendum this November for a new stadium, Elway came back in the hopes of winning votes.

“Any time John participates in anything around here, be it a football game or a push for a new football stadium, it usually has some impact,” Bowlen said. “Anybody who knows John knows he’s his own man, and he’s not going to do anything he doesn’t want to do.”

Upon his return Elway agreed to restructure his contract for this season so the Broncos could have more salary-cap room to sign others. His base salary was reduced from $3.8 million to $300,000, the remainder deferred, making him the league’s lowest-paid starting quarterback.

“The monkey’s off our back,” said Elway, who has been overwhelmed by endorsement opportunities and all-out Denver adoration. “The great thing about this off-season, it was all positive. In the past it hasn’t always been positive. But no one had anything to complain about this year.”

But how much does Elway have left in the tank?

“I’m not nearly as fast as I used to be and can’t move like I did--that’s the thing to me that’s really dwindled,” he said. “I have to hold my finger up while watching video to see if I’m moving. But what I’ve lost there, I’ve gained by the way I’m throwing the ball. I’m more accurate, plus the offense I’m in I don’t have to do those things I did when I was younger. I don’t have to run around. I can give the ball to somebody else and let them make plays.”

Elway, a winner of 138 regular-season games, more than any other quarterback in NFL history, has 16 more chances to pad his record.

“When you do something your whole life, it’s tough to walk away,” said Elway, who needs 1,331 passing yards to join Marino as the only quarterbacks in NFL history to hit the 50,000-yard mark. “I actually had planned on retiring, but that’s why I took the time I took because I didn’t want to make a hasty decision, retire and then change my mind six weeks later.

“In that time I realized I wasn’t prepared. Johnny Bench told me he knew it was time to retire and had no regrets, but I wasn’t sure I could say that. I wasn’t prepared, but by saying it now--this is my last year--when the end finally does come, I’ll be ready.”

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Oldies--but Goodies?

Does John Elway have enough left at age 38 to win another Super Bowl? A look at other NFL quarterbacks who have attempted at least 200 passes at age 38:

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Player (Year, Team) Att.-Cmp. Pct. Yds. TD Int Rating Warren Moon (1995, Minn.) 606-377 62.2 4228 33 14 91.0 Craig Morton (1981, Denver) 376-225 59.8 3195 21 14 90.5 Joe Montana (1994, K.C.) 493-299 60.6 3283 16 9 83.6 Jim Plunkett (1989, L.A. Raiders) 252-133 52.8 1986 14 9 82.5 Fran Tarkenton (1978, Minn.) 572-345 60.3 3468 25 32 68.9 George Blanda (1966, Houston) 271-122 45.0 1764 17 21 55.3

Player (Year, Team) Rec. Warren Moon (1995, Minn.) 8-8 Craig Morton (1981, Denver) 10-6 Joe Montana (1994, K.C.) 9-7 Jim Plunkett (1989, L.A. Raiders) 8-8 Fran Tarkenton (1978, Minn.) 8-7-1 George Blanda (1966, Houston) 3-11

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Note: None of these quarterbacks won the Super Bowl at 38.