Elway’s Profile Is Low

John Elway, making his first management decision relative to football in Los Angeles, decided to bypass a scheduled news conference in Eli Broad’s board room Thursday in order to avoid the appearance of favoritism.

Elway and his wife, Janet, met for two hours with Hollywood talent manager Michael Ovitz at his home and then joined Broad and Mayor Richard Riordan at Broad’s Sun America headquarters to explore the opportunity of becoming part owner and president of an NFL expansion team in Los Angeles.

“To me, this is the most exciting news that I could have ever heard that John Elway would be interested in being the president of a team in Los Angeles,” said Riordan, stepping in for Elway, while Elway left for the airport. “I think it’s a magical way to make all this work very quickly.”

Elway’s Los Angeles-based attorney, Marvin Demoff, said Elway is in no position at the present time--less than two weeks after announcing his NFL retirement--to make a career decision, “but there is no doubt he is very, very interested in the Los Angeles opportunity.”

Ovitz showed Elway his new design plans for the Coliseum, and Broad suggested to him that his own business background could expand Elway’s investment opportunities beyond football.

“I think he was very excited with what he saw, and I think he would be a perfect fit for what we have planned for the Coliseum,” Ovitz said.

Ovitz and Broad, looking for an edge via Elway to convince the NFL to focus their attention on one ownership group, will meet with NFL owners at meetings in Atlanta on May 25-26.

“John Elway made it clear in our meeting that he doesn’t want to simply be a celebrity,” Broad said. “He wants to start a new career and he says I expect in my new career to be as successful as I was in my first career. And I believe he can do it.”