Age, Biography, and Wiki
John Elway, born on June 28, 1960, is a former professional football quarterback who spent his entire 16-year career with the Denver Broncos. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history, leading the Broncos to five Super Bowl appearances and winning two consecutive championships in his final two seasons.
| Occupation | Football Players |
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| Date of Birth | 28 June 1960 |
| Age | 64 Years |
| Birth Place | Port Angeles, Washington, U.S. |
| Horoscope | Cancer |
| Country | U.S |
Height, Weight & Measurements
Elway stands at a height of 6 feet 3 inches (191 cm) and during his playing days, he weighed approximately 220 lbs (100 kg), which was a formidable combination of size and agility for a quarterback.
As one of the best quarterbacks drafted, Elway joined Denver as one of the most highly anticipated athletes in the history of the NFL. The local newspapers ran a section that was called "The Elway Watch". After Craig Morton retired after the 1982 season and Herrmann was traded, the press expected that Elway might become the starting quarterback during the 1983 season. He debuted for the Broncos in the season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Three Rivers Stadium, and was sacked for the first time in his NFL career at the hands of linebacker and fellow Hall of Famer Jack Lambert. In his first game, Elway was relieved by veteran quarterback Steve DeBerg, who led the Broncos to a victory. Elway's second game was also on the road at Baltimore, and was spirited by his rejection of the franchise. In what would turn out to be Elway's only professional game in Baltimore, Elway was again relieved in a close game by DeBerg, who led the Broncos to another win. In early October, DeBerg was named the starter by third-year head coach Dan Reeves for the remainder of the season, but a shoulder injury brought Elway back a month later.
It took Elway another eight years, but he eventually led his team back to the Super Bowl, following the 1997 season. During the preseason American Bowl game in Mexico City, Elway ruptured his right (throwing arm) biceps tendon. It was treated non-surgically, and he returned to play 19 days later, and the team advanced to Super Bowl XXXII, Elway's fourth, where they faced the Green Bay Packers, the defending champions. Despite Elway completing only 11 of 22 passes, throwing no touchdowns and one interception, the Broncos defeated the Packers 31–24, winning their first Super Bowl, after three failed attempts for Elway (and four for the team).
| Height | 6 feet 3 inches |
| Weight | 220 lbs |
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Dating & Relationship Status
John Elway has been married to Paige Green since 2009. His personal life is often kept private, but he is known to be a devoted family man.
Elway and his twin sister Jana were born on June 28, 1960, in Port Angeles, Washington, to Janet (née Jordan) and Jack Elway, then the head coach at Port Angeles High School. The family of five included sister Lee Ann, a year older than the twins. They moved the following year to southwestern Washington, where Jack was the junior college head football coach at Grays Harbor Community College in Aberdeen for five seasons. As a youth, Elway lived primarily in Missoula, Montana, and Pullman, Washington, when his father was an assistant coach at Montana and Washington State, respectively.
Known as a dual-threat quarterback, meaning he was accomplished at running and escaping pressure with an impressive passing ability, he was amongst the top recruited high school players in the country, receiving numerous scholarships. One of those offers was from his father, who became the head coach at San Jose State following the 1978 season. Also an accomplished baseball player, Elway was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the 18th round of the 1979 Major League Baseball draft. The Royals also selected Marino in the fourth round of the same draft.
The Baltimore Colts had the first overall pick in the 1983 NFL draft, nicknamed the "Quarterback class of 1983". Elway was the first of six quarterbacks selected in the first round. Elway was wary of playing for the Colts, among the worst teams in the league at the time, and his father advised him against playing for head coach Frank Kush, who had a reputation as a harsh taskmaster. While Elway preferred football, his agent Marvin Demoff later stated that baseball was "a true option" for him at the time. The possibility gave Elway leverage in negotiations with the Colts.
Elway's twin sister, Jana, developed lung cancer and died at the age of 42 in the summer of 2002. John's father, Jack, died of an apparent heart attack a year earlier.
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Net Worth and Salary
As of 2025, John Elway's net worth is estimated to be around $145 million to $230 million depending on the source, marking him as one of the wealthiest NFL players. His salary as an executive is approximately $3 million per year.
Business Ventures
- Automotive Industry: Elway owns a network of car dealerships across several locations, selling brands like Toyota, Chevrolet, Chrysler Jeep, and Cadillac. His involvement in the automotive sector has been highly successful, contributing significantly to his wealth.
- Restaurants: He also owns a chain of steakhouses called Elway’s across Colorado.
- Sports Ventures: Elway was the owner of the Arena Football team, Colorado Crush, from 2002 to 2008.
- Media Appearances: He occasionally appears as a commentator on local radio shows in Denver.
John Albert Elway Jr. (born June 28, 1960) is an American former professional football quarterback who spent his entire 16-year career with the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). Following his playing career, he then spent 11 years with the Broncos in various front office positions, eventually being promoted to general manager. Elway and former backup quarterback and head coach Gary Kubiak are the only individuals to be associated with all three of the Broncos' Super Bowl wins.
While playing college football at Stanford, Elway set several career records for passing attempts and completions and also received unanimous 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. 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, a moment later dubbed "The Drive". Following that game in Cleveland, Elway and the Broncos lost in Super Bowl XXI to the New York Giants.
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 named 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. After his retirement as a player, Elway 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, making Elway a three-time Super Bowl Champion with the Broncos – two as a player and one as an executive. Elway was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2000 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2004.
In February 1976, Jack joined the staff at Palouse neighbor Idaho, but a month later became the head coach at Cal State-Northridge, a Division II program in Southern California. The family moved after John's freshman year at Pullman High School to the San Fernando Valley, where he played his final three years of football at Granada Hills High School in Granada Hills, under head coaches Jack Neumeier and Tom Richards. Despite missing five games with a knee injury as a senior, he ended his high school career with 5,711 passing yards and 49 passing touchdowns, and was named to the Parade All America High School Football Team, along with future NFL stars, quarterback Dan Marino and running back Eric Dickerson.
Although Elway never led his team to a bowl game, he had an accomplished college career. In his four seasons (1979–1982) at Stanford, he completed 774 passes for 9,349 yards, 77 touchdowns, and 39 interceptions, while also scoring 5 touchdowns rushing the ball. Stanford had a 20–23 record during his tenure. Elway's 24 touchdown passes in 1982 led the nation, and at the conclusion of his career, he held nearly every Pacific-10 record for passing and total offense. He won the Pac-10 Player of the Year honors in 1980 and 1982, was a unanimous All-American, and finished second in Heisman balloting as a senior. In 2000, Elway was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame. In 2007, Elway was ranked #15 on ESPN's Top 25 Players In College Football History list. He passed for over 200 yards in 30 of his 42 collegiate games.
Also in 1999, Elway was ranked number 16 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players, the only player to have spent the majority of his career with the Broncos to make the list; Willie Brown, who began his career with the Broncos but spent more of it with the Oakland Raiders, also made the list. In 2005, TSN published another special feature honoring the 50 Greatest Quarterbacks. Elway was ranked third behind Johnny Unitas and Joe Montana.
Elway was named the greatest athlete wearing the #7 by Sports Illustrated. Pittsburgh Steelers' quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who grew up idolizing Elway and Joe Montana, wore number 7 in honor of Elway during his entire 18-year career.
Elway ended his career with a record 148 victories, since surpassed by Brett Favre, Peyton Manning, and Tom Brady for most wins by a starting quarterback. He finished his career with 774 rushing attempts, currently fourth in league history behind Cam Newton (934), Michael Vick (873), and Randall Cunningham (775). Elway's 3,407 rushing yards ranks seventh all-time among NFL QB's behind Cunningham, Vick, Newton, Steve Young, Fran Tarkenton, and Steve McNair.
* Pass Attempts: career (7,250), game (59 on 1993-10-10 @GNB; with Peyton Manning), playoffs (651), rookie season (259 in 1983), rookie game (44 on 1983-12-11 BAL)
* Passing Touchdowns: career (300), playoffs (27), playoff season (6 in 1987), playoff game (3 on 1988-01-17 CLE, 1990-01-14 CLE, and 1994-01-09 @RAI; with Peyton Manning)
* Sacks: career (516), game (7 on 1989-10-29 PHI and 1993-10-18 RAI; with Tim Tebow), playoffs (39), playoff game (5 on 1988-01-31 NWAS; with Tim Tebow and Peyton Manning), rookie season (28 in 1983)
* In 1979, Elway was drafted out of high school by the Kansas City Royals to play baseball in Major League Baseball. George Brett, the future Hall of Fame third baseman for the Royals, remarked, "They said: 'talk this guy into playing baseball. We didn't do a very good job, thank God, because he probably would have taken my job."
* Elway's 300 career touchdown passes places him twelfth behind Favre, Dan Marino, Fran Tarkenton, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Eli Manning, Philip Rivers, Aaron Rodgers, Matt Ryan, and Ben Roethlisberger.
Elway owned five auto dealerships, called John Elway Autos, in the Denver area. He sold them to AutoNation Inc. in 1997 for $82.5 million. In December 2006, Elway ended a nine-year licensing agreement with AutoNation, removing his name from Denver-area dealerships. At the time, Elway said the move could allow him to get back into the auto business under his own name. He still owns two Toyota Scion dealerships, one in Manhattan Beach, California and another in Ontario, California, a Chevrolet dealership in Englewood, Colorado, and a Chrysler Jeep dealership in Greeley, Colorado. Elway acquired a Cadillac franchise from Sonic Automotive in 2014.
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.
Social Network
Elway maintains a strong presence in his community, often engaging in local business and sports events. However, he is not extensively active on traditional social media platforms.
In 1979, Elway enrolled at Stanford University, where he played for the Stanford Cardinal football and baseball teams. Rod Gilmore recalled that the football team expected Elway to be a backup quarterback for three years before starting, like Turk Schonert and Steve Dils. After seeing the new player in preseason practice Babe Laufenberg and another backup transferred, knowing that Elway would be above them on the depth chart. Stanford was where the legend of the "Elway cross" began; after the freshman broke two players' fingers on the first day of practice, receivers began catching Elway's passes with their bodies instead of hands, leaving a cross on their chests from the ball's seams.
Gilmore, who regretted not helping Elway win a Heisman ("Had we focused a little more on what we were doing, we could have made things easier on John"), thought that the Broncos were, like their Stanford teams, overdependent on Elway: "when one player is head and shoulders better than the rest of the team ... people come to expect the star will always save the day". After recording an 8–8 record in 1988, Elway once again led his team to the Super Bowl after the 1989 season, with yet another win over the Browns in the AFC championship game, going on to face the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XXIV. However, this game ended even worse for the Broncos than their previous Super Bowl losses. San Francisco blew out Denver 55–10, the most lopsided score in Super Bowl history. Although Elway scored the only touchdown for his team on a three-yard run, his performance was abysmal: 10 out of 26 completions for 108 yards with no touchdown passes and two interceptions. But he didn't try to hide from the media after the game or downplay his dismal performance. And when he was asked if he wanted to go back to the Super Bowl after three losses, he responded that he wanted to go back every year, even if his team kept losing. However, many doubted that he would win a Super Bowl in his career.
Education
John Elway attended Stanford University, where he developed his football skills and graduated with a degree in economics.
In summary, John Elway's success extends far beyond his football career, with a diversified portfolio of business ventures and a lasting impact on the sports industry.
In his senior season in 1982, Stanford was 5–5 and needed to win its final game, The Big Game against Cal, to secure an invitation to the Hall of Fame Classic bowl game. With two minutes remaining in the game, Stanford was down 19–17 and had 4th-and-17 on their own 13-yard line. Elway completed a 29-yard pass and drove the ball downfield to the 35-yard line, where Mark Harmon kicked what appeared to be the winning field goal. However, the clock had four seconds remaining, so Stanford had to kick off. What followed is now simply known as "The Play", in which Cal players lateraled the ball, rugby-style, five times – two of them controversial – and scored a touchdown to win the game, 25–20. Elway was bitter about the game afterward, stating that the officials "ruined my last game as a college football player." Stanford athletics director Andy Geiger said the loss cost Elway the Heisman Trophy. Twenty years later, Elway came to terms with The Play, saying that "each year it gets a little funnier."
Elway graduated with a bachelor's degree in economics, and is a member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity. Already age 19 when he entered as a freshman, Elway did not use a redshirt year at Stanford.
On August 8, 2004, Elway was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was elected in his first year of eligibility. He was presented by his eldest daughter Jessica. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2000.
* In the 1981 MLB Draft, Elway was selected by the New York Yankees in the second round. The following year, he played outfield in 42 games for the Oneonta Yankees of the Class A New York–Penn League. He had a .318 batting average, with four home runs, 13 stolen bases, and a team-high 25 RBI.
Elway married Janet Buchan, who attended Stanford University and competed on its swimming team, in 1984. They separated in 2002 and divorced in 2003. They have four children: Jessica, Jordan, Jack, and Juliana.
