John Elway John Albert Elway , Jr . ( born June 28 , 1960 ) is a former American football quarterback and current General Manager and Executive Vice President of Football Operations for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League ( NFL ) . He played college football at Stanford and his entire professional career with the Denver Broncos . Elway recorded the most victories by a starting quarterback at the time of his retirement . He retired in 1999 and statistically was the second most prolific passer in NFL history . Elway led his teams to six AFC Championship Game s and five Super Bowls , winning his last two . Elway set several career records for passing attempts and completions while at Stanford . He also received All - America n honors . Elway was drafted # 1 overall in the 1983 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Colts before being traded to the Denver Broncos . In 1987 , he embarked on what is considered to be one of the most clutch and iconic performances in sports and in NFL history , helping engineer the Broncos on a 98 - yard , game - tying touchdown drive in the AFC Championship Game against the Cleveland Browns . The moment is known in National Football League lore as " " The Drive " " . Following the AFC Championship Game , Elway and the Broncos lost in Super Bowl XXI to the New York Giants . It would be the first of a record five Super Bowl starts at quarterback in Elway ' s career , a record that he solely held until 2012 when Tom Brady earned his fifth Super Bowl start . After two more Super Bowl losses , the Broncos entered a period of decline ; however , that would end 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 voted MVP of that Super Bowl , which would prove to be the last game of his career . Elway was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2004 in his first year of eligibility . Since his retirement , Elway has owned several businesses , including being a co - owner of the inactive Colorado Crush , an arena football team . Early life . Elway and his twin sister were born in Port Angeles , Washington , on June 28 , 1960 , to Janet ( née Jordan ) and Jack Elway , then a high school head coach at Port Angeles High School on the Olympic Peninsula . The following year , the family of five which included sister Lee Ann , a year older than the twins , moved to southwestern Washington where Jack was the junior college football coach at Grays Harbor Community College in Aberdeen for five seasons . As a youth he lived primarily in Missoula , Montana , and Pullman , Washington , when his father was an assistant coach at Montana and Washington State , respectively . His father became the head coach at Cal State - Northridge in March 1976 , and the Elways moved from Pullman to the San Fernando Valley in southern California , where John played his final three years of football at Granada Hills High School in Granada Hills . 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 . Known as a dual - threat quarterback , meaning he was accomplished at running and escaping pressure and had impressive passing ability , he was the number - one recruited high school player in the country , receiving over 60 scholarship offers . ( 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 18 round of the 1979 Major League Baseball Draft . ( The Royals drafted Dan Marino in the fourth round of the same draft . ) College career . He enrolled at Stanford University in 1979 where he played football and baseball . In his senior season in 1982 , Stanford was 5 - 5 and needed to win their final game , the Big Game against California , 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 they were on 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 . " 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 and 77 touchdowns . Stanford had a 20 – 23 record during his tenure . Elway ' s 24 touchdown passes in 1982 led the nation , and he graduated with nearly every Stanford and Pacific - 10 career record for passing and total offense . He won Pac - 10 Player of the Year honors in 1980 and 1982 , was a consensus All - America n , and finished second in Heisman Trophy 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 . Thomas Davids , an assistant football coach , said that Elway was the " best looking ball player he had ever seen . " A consensus All - American at Stanford , he passed for over 200 yards in 30 of his 42 collegiate games . Elway was the nation ' s most highly recruited prep athlete in 1984 . Elway also excelled as a baseball player . He was drafted by the New York Yankees in the second round of the 1981 MLB Draft ( 52nd overall , six spots ahead of future Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn ) , and received $ 150 , 000 for playing for the Yankees ' short season affiliate Oneonta Yankees in the summer of 1982 . Yankees scout Gary Hughes believed that had Elway concentrated on baseball " the sky was the limit . . . he would ' ve been off the charts " . Yankees owner George Steinbrenner — who aggressively sought Elway ' s services — reportedly planned to make him the Yankees ' starting right fielder by , which Elway — aware of Steinbrenner ' s opinion — later described as " a tremendous [ and ] exciting thought " . He played right field and pitched for Stanford , finishing his senior year hitting . 361 with nine home runs and 50 RBIs in 49 games and a 5 – 4 record with a 4 . 51 ERA . Elway graduated with a bachelor ' s degree in economics , and he 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 . Professional career . 1983 NFL Draft . In the 1983 NFL Draft Elway was selected as the first overall pick by the Baltimore Colts . ( He is one of three quarterbacks in the history of the draft to be chosen first and later be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame . The other two are Terry Bradshaw and Troy Aikman . ) Elway was wary of playing for the Colts , then among the worst teams in the league , 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 . More importantly , the possibility gave Elway leverage in negotiations with the Colts . After unsuccessfully attempting to negotiate a private agreement with the Colts in which Elway would cite his alleged desire to remain on the West coast to explain the team trading him , Elway publicly threatened to join the Yankees full - time if the Colts did not trade him ; Demoff wrote in his journal , published three decades later , that " he would be a garbage collector before he ' d play for Baltimore . " Elway ' s refusal to join the Colts was controversial — Bradshaw denounced him , stating " you should play baseball . . . he ' s not the kind of guy you win championships with " — but many other NFL teams began negotiations with the Colts for the quarterback . One possibility was trading Elway for the San Francisco 49ers ' Joe Montana , whose team had had a poor 1982 season . Another was a trade with the San Diego Chargers , which was negotiating a new contract with its star quarterback Dan Fouts . The New England Patriots were interested , but the Colts did not wish to trade Elway to a team in the same division . The Colts ' general manager Ernie Accorsi badly wanted Elway as , Accorsi later said , he ( correctly ) did not foresee the 1984 draft as producing any first - round quarterbacks , and announced Elway as the team ' s choice as soon as possible during the 15 - minute window on draft day , surprising observers . Elway that day reiterated his wish to not play for the Colts at a press conference , saying " As I stand here right now , I ' m playing baseball " . ( When a reporter pointed out that the Yankees were not based on the West coast , Elway replied " They play baseball during the summertime " . ) The Colts , however , were interested in offensive lineman Chris Hinton , who the Denver Broncos had chosen as the fourth pick in the first round . On 2 May Colts owner Robert Irsay and Accorsi agreed to trade Elway for Hinton , backup quarterback Mark Herrmann , and a first - round pick in the 1984 draft . Denver Broncos . 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 " . Elway debuted for the Broncos in the 1983 season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Three Rivers Stadium . He was sacked for the first time in his NFL career at the hands of linebacker and fellow Hall of Famer Jack Lambert . Although the Broncos were playoff contenders for his early years , Elway went through the normal growing pains of a young NFL quarterback . In the 1986 season , Elway led the Broncos to Super Bowl XXI , after defeating the Cleveland Browns on a famous possession at the end of the fourth quarter that became known as " The Drive " . ( In a span of 5 minutes and 2 seconds , Elway led his team 98 yards to tie the game with 37 seconds left in regulation . The Broncos went on to win the game in overtime ) . Elway and the Broncos started out the Super Bowl against the New York Giants very well , building a 10 – 7 lead and then driving to the Giants 1 - yard line in the second quarter . However , the Broncos lost five yards on their next three plays and came up empty after kicker Rich Karlis missed the field goal attempt . From that point on , the rest of the game went downhill for the Broncos . Elway was sacked in the end zone for a safety on the Broncos ensuing possession , cutting their lead to 10 – 9 . Then in the second half , the Giants scored 30 points and ended up winning the game 39 – 20 . Still , Elway had an impressive performance , throwing for 304 yards and a touchdown , with one interception , while also leading Denver in rushing with 27 yards and a touchdown on the ground . In 1987 , Elway was selected to start in the American Football Conference ' s ( AFC ) Pro Bowl team and won the NFL Most Valuable Player Award . He went on to once again lead the Broncos to a victory over the Browns in the AFC title game , earning their second consecutive Super Bowl appearance , this one against the Washington Redskins . The game started out very well for Denver , and they built up a 10 – 0 lead by the end of the first quarter . At the time , no team had ever overcome a 10 – 0 deficit in the Super Bowl . But in the second quarter , the Redskins suddenly stormed back with a record 35 points , and ended up winning Super Bowl XXII 42 – 10 . Elway did have a few highlights . His 56 - yard touchdown pass to Ricky Nattiel after just 1 : 57 had elapsed in the game set a record for the fastest touchdown in Super Bowl history , at the time . He also became the first quarterback ever to catch a pass in the Super Bowl , recording a 23 - yard reception from halfback Steve Sewell on a halfback option play . With a porous defense unable to stop the Redskins offense , Elway was forced to take more risks on the offensive end . As a result , Elway ' s performance was rather disappointing : just 14 out of 38 completions for 257 yards and one touchdown , with three interceptions . 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 . Still by this point , many doubted that he would ever win a Super Bowl in his career . It took Elway another eight years , but he eventually led his team back to the Super Bowl in 1998 . During the 1997 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 , going on that season to play in his fourth Super Bowl . In Super Bowl XXXII , the Broncos faced the defending Super Bowl champions Green Bay Packers . Despite Elway completing only 11 of 22 passes , throwing no TDs , but one interception , they went on to defeat the Packers 31 – 24 , finally winning a Super Bowl after three failed attempts for Elway ( and four for the team ) . In 1999 , the Broncos repeated this feat and Elway was awarded the MVP of Super Bowl XXXIII , throwing for 336 yards and one touchdown with one interception , while also scoring a rushing touchdown in Denver ' s 34 – 19 win over the Atlanta Falcons . It was his last game , other than the 1999 Pro Bowl . Legacy . On May 2 , 1999 , at the age of 38 , Elway announced his retirement from pro football . Elway is regarded as one of the top quarterbacks ever to play the game . He has one of the best winning percentages in league history ( 148 – 82 – 1 ) , and is tied for second most Pro Bowl selections for a quarterback ( nine ) . He is fourth to Brett Favre , Dan Marino and Peyton Manning in career passing attempts , passing yards and completions . His four total rushing touchdowns in his Super Bowl games are the most ever by a quarterback . As of 2012 , Elway and Tom Brady are the only quarterbacks to start in 5 Super Bowls . He is also the second player ever to score a rushing touchdown in four different Super Bowls ( running back Thurman Thomas was the first ) . On September 13 , 1999 , Elway ' s number 7 jersey was retired by the Denver Broncos during halftime of a Monday Night game against the Miami Dolphins ; that same night he was inducted into the Denver Broncos Ring of Fame . ( Craig Morton , his direct predecessor in Denver , also wore number 7 and is in the Ring of Fame alongside Elway ) . He was the first Broncos player to have the five - year waiting period waived . Also in 1999 he was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame . 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 " . Current Pittsburgh Steelers ' quarterback Ben Roethlisberger , who grew up idolizing Elway and Joe Montana , wears number 7 in honor of Elway . Elway is the oldest quarterback to win a Super Bowl , winning his last at the age of 38 . Notable statistics . Elway ended his career with a record 148 victories , since surpassed by Brett Favre for most wins by a starting quarterback . He finished his career with 774 rushing attempts , one shy of NFL record - holder Randall Cunningham ( 775 ) for rushes by a quarterback . Elway ' s 3 , 417 rushing yards ranks sixth all - time among NFL QB ' s behind Cunningham , Michael Vick , Steve Young , Fran Tarkenton , and Steve McNair . Elway threw for 1 , 128 yards in his five Super Bowls , fourth most behind Tom Brady , Kurt Warner and Joe Montana . His 76 Super Bowl pass completions rank fifth , and his 152 attempts were a Super Bowl record before being broken by Tom Brady . He is one of only two players ever to score a rushing touchdown in four different Super Bowls ( the other being Thurman Thomas ) and the only quarterback to do so . ( 156 attempts ) Elway holds several Broncos franchise records : Hall of Fame . 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 . Business activities . Elway was co - owner of the Arena Football team Colorado Crush , from their inception in 2002 until the cancellation of the Arena Football League after the 2008 season . In February 2007 , Elway was elected chairman of the AFL ' s executive committee . On August 4 , 2009 the Arena Football League announced an indefinite suspension of operations . Elway was one of the 17 remaining franchise owners that voted to suspend operations indefinitely . Elway is the owner of two steakhouse restaurants , each named " Elway ' s " : One is located in the upscale Cherry Creek shopping district , and the other is in the Ritz - Carlton Hotel in downtown Denver . 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 . In September 2008 , Elway became the spokesperson for OpenSports . com . Elway also writes a weekly NFL blog on the site . Elway had LASIK eye surgery and endorsed Icon LASIK in the Denver area in November 2008 . Elway currently offers his commentary on the Broncos and the NFL season as a whole Friday mornings during the football season on 87 . 7 The Ticket in Denver . Executive career . In December 2010 , Elway expressed interest in working as the Broncos ' top football executive , after having dinner with Broncos owner Pat Bowlen . However , he expressed no interest in being a head coach or general manager after Josh McDaniels ' firing , saying , " I ' m not interested in being a head coach . I ' m not interested in being a general manager . I don ' t have that kind of experience to be able to pick those players day in and day out and such . " On January 5 , 2011 , Elway was named executive vice president of football operations of the Denver Broncos . In this capacity , he reports to Joe Ellis ( team president ) and is the immediate supervisor for head coach John Fox . General manager Brian Xanders was retained , but served mostly in an advisory role to Elway , who had the final say in football matters . Xanders left the team after the 2011 season , giving Elway complete control over the football side of the Broncos operation . Family . 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 . 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 . Elway proposed marriage to former Oakland Raiders cheerleader Paige Green in Italy in September 2008 . Elway and Green were married in August 2009 . Elway met Green in 2005 at a celebrity golf tournament held by former Raiders running back Marcus Allen in Los Angeles .