John Elway Net Worth

What is John Elway's Net Worth and Salary?

John Elway is a retired American football player who has a net worth of $145 million. John Elway's net worth could have been much, MUCH, higher. As we detail later in this biography, and in this longer-form article, John had the opportunity to buy 20% of the Denver Broncos for a relative pittance. He declined the offer. The Broncos were bought by a member of the Walton family in mid-2022 for $4.6 billion. Had John invested, he would have made $930 million.

John Elway, one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history, spent his entire 16-year career with the Denver Broncos after being selected first overall in the 1983 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Colts and subsequently traded. His acquisition became a pivotal moment for the Broncos franchise, as Denver traded quarterback Mark Herrmann, offensive lineman Chris Hinton, and a first-round pick in the 1984 draft to secure Elway's services.

Elway's career was defined by his exceptional versatility as both a passer and rusher. He led the Broncos to five Super Bowl appearances, winning back-to-back championships in his final two seasons (1997-1998). His crowning achievement came when he was named Super Bowl XXXIII MVP in his final NFL game, securing his legacy with a second consecutive championship.

At retirement, Elway stood as the NFL's all-time winningest starting quarterback with a 148-82-1 record. He ranked second all-time in three major passing categories: yards (51,475), attempts (7,250), and completions (4,123). He was also a dual-threat quarterback who led all NFL quarterbacks in career rushing attempts (774) and ranked fourth in rushing yards (3,407).

Elway was responsible for 334 total touchdowns (300 passing, 33 rushing, and 1 receiving), generating an astounding 82.2% of the Broncos' points during his tenure. His clutch performances became legendary, particularly "The Drive" in the 1987 AFC Championship game against Cleveland, a 98-yard touchdown march that cemented his reputation for late-game heroics.

Throughout his storied career, Elway earned nine Pro Bowl selections, tied for the most ever by a quarterback at that time. He was named NFL MVP in 1987 and received the Walter Payton Man of the Year award in 1992. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2004, honoring his transformative impact on the quarterback position and the game itself.

(Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

Early Life

John Elway was born alongside his twin sister on June 28th, 1960, in Port Angeles, Washington. Raised alongside his twin and an older sister, John watched his father excel as a football coach from an early age. The family moved around throughout the United States as John's father, Jack, acted as a football coach for the University of Montana and Washington State.

John Elway excelled as a high school quarterback, establishing himself as a "dual-threat" who could pass and run with equal levels of proficiency. During his high school years, Elway also became a skilled baseball player. By the time he was ready to graduate, dozens of colleges had sent him football scholarship offers.

He eventually joined Stanford University and became their star quarterback. Although his last game for Stanford was ruined by a controversial play resulting in the team's loss, he nevertheless amassed an impressive record that drew attention from the NFL. He also continued to excel on the baseball diamond and graduated with a bachelor's degree in economics.

NFL Career

John Elway was picked by the Baltimore Colts in the 1983 Draft, and he then controversially convinced them to trade him immediately. He even threatened to play for the New York Yankees (Elway still had the potential to become a professional baseball player) if he wasn't traded. Eventually, he got his wish and was traded to the Denver Broncos.

At the beginning of his career with the Broncos, Elway struggled to establish himself as the team's starting quarterback. However, when Steve DeBerg suffered a shoulder injury, Elway stepped in and led them to a Super Bowl game in 1986. In 1987, the Broncos returned to the Super Bowl but were defeated a second time. They returned to the Super Bowl in 1989, this time suffering a rather demoralizing defeat. At this point in his career, Elway was very young, and some doubted that he would ever win the Super Bowl.

However, he gradually gained valuable experience and confidence over the next few years. In 1997, he led his team back to the Super Bowl and finally got the win he was dreaming of. Once again, Elway's performance left something to be desired – but it didn't matter. The Broncos had won. The next year, Elway had one of the best performances of his entire career when he won the Super Bowl yet again. He was named MVP in what was his last game.

NFL Career Earnings, Salary & Contracts

​John Elway earned approximately $47.4 million over his 16-season NFL career with the Denver Broncos. His most lucrative contract was a five-year, $29.5 million extension signed in 1996, which included $6.25 million in guarantees. Earlier, he secured a four-year, $19.1 million deal in 1993 and a six-year, $12.7 million extension in 1987.

(Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

Car Dealerships

John Elway established five car dealerships under the brand name John Elway Autos. Located in Denver, the dealerships were sold to AutoNation in 1997 for $82.5 million. The deal also allowed AutoNation to use Elway's name as a marketing tactic until 2006. After 2006, when the deal expired, Elway was able to re-enter the auto dealership industry under his own name.

In the years that followed, John established two Toyota Scion dealerships in California, a Chevrolet dealership in Colorado, a Chrysler Jeep dealership in Colorado, and a Cadillac franchise under the Sonic Automotive brand name.

Potential Ownership of Broncos

John Elway once had the opportunity to purchase what would eventually have been an extremely lucrative stake in the Denver Broncos franchise. In the late 1990s, as John's career was winding down, Bronco's owner, Pat Bowlen, offered to sell Elway a 10% stake in the team for $15 million. The deal also would have given Elway the option to acquire a further 10% if he walked away from $21 million in salary he was owed at the time. He would have also become a special assistant to Bowlen and a COO for the Broncos (which would, of course, come with a salary of its own).

So, in other words, if John chipped in $15 million of his own cash and gave up $21 million in future earnings, he would own 20% of the Broncos. That's essentially $36 million to own 20% of an NFL franchise. Using those numbers, Pat Bowlen was valuing the Broncos at $180 million.

The deal even allowed Elway to sell back his stake with a $5 million markup plus 8% interest per year since the initial purchase. Finally, Elway would have first dibs if the Bowlen family ever decided to sell the entire franchise. Elway declined to pursue the deal.

This turned out to be a really bad decision.

On June 6, 2022, Pat Bowlen's heirs reached a deal to sell the Broncos to Walmart heir Rob Walton for $4.5 billion.

Therefore, had Elway secured that 20% stake when the team sold, he would have received $900 million.

Years later, many observers scratched their heads, wondering why John never put pen to paper. These observers have also pointed out that Elway did, in fact, have the $15 million lying around – in fact, he sold a number of car dealerships for over $80 million a year before Pat Bowlen proposed the deal. In his defense, Elway explained that he didn't agree to the deal because he didn't see a place for himself in the executive side of the Broncos' business.

Elsa/Getty Images

Other Bad Investments

John Elway has made a number of bad investments over the years. One of the most notable was a decision to invest $15 million (the same amount he could have invested in a 10% Broncos stake) in a Ponzi scheme. He ended up losing $7 million before he could pull $6 million back out to safety.

In 1998, he invested heavily in a new company called Laundromax, which failed to take off. That year, he also bought over 130,000 shares in a Latin-language media company called QuePasa for $500,000. By the year 2000, share prices had fallen from $27 to $1, marking a huge loss for Elway. In 1999, Elway invested millions of dollars into a site called MVP.com, which quickly shut down. He also co-owned the Colorado Crush, a football team that went bust after the Arena Football League was shut down.

Who's Richer?

John
Elway

Compare!

Dan
Marino