While Howie Long and John Elway spent almost a decade as part of rival teams in the NFL, they didn’t have many conversations with each other off the gridiron. The former Raiders defensive end Long says it was not really his “job to be friends with the people I was playing against.” However, according to him, that mindset is now a thing of the past.
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The eight-time Pro Bowl defensive end took to his son’s show ‘Green Light with Chris Long’ and revealed what rival dynamics looked like in the past, especially his relationship with Raiders QB John Elway,
“The first conversation I had with John Elway was the night before I retired at the Super Bowl. We were at a closed restaurant, and we were drinking ’til about 1:30, 2 in the morning. In those days, it wasn’t my job to be friends with the people I was playing against. You went to the Pro Bowl, and that kind of went away a little bit. But you certainly were aware of it, particularly with people that you played against in division.”
Long retired in 1993 after playing 13 seasons with the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders. By then, he and Elway had 11 seasons worth of battles on the football field, including one playoff game.
However, it’s not that Long disliked the former Denver Broncos quarterback and front-office executive. Instead, the former Raider wasn’t particularly friendly with opponents, especially division rivals. However, he says things have changed, as he said,
“Playing for the Raiders, we were an island onto ourselves. It was us against everybody. When you think about it, the Internet, cell phones, all that stuff, TikTok, X, all that stuff that people communicate with now. Guys in the offseason get together, guys talk to other guys from other teams.”
The 1985 Co-Defensive Player of the Year reflected on this topic when his son brought up Justin Fields and C.J. Stroud’s offseason vacation in Morocco. The two quarterbacks are enjoying their time off together in the offseason. While it may seem odd, the two AFC rivals were teammates at Ohio State, with Stroud playing backup to Fields before he went off to the draft. The two have a strong relationship, and Howie Long doesn’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing.
Howie Long Understands the Camaraderie in Today’s NFL
The 1997 Sports Emmy Award winner actively participated in evolving the NFL’s media coverage. That’s why he has no complaints about current players behaving in the context of a never-ending news cycle.
“Here’s the thing that I believe. I think this group today is indicative of the mass media, 24-hour news cycle. You make a mistake right now; it’s in China 30 seconds later. The world is so connected,” Long shared.
With much attention poured into personalities nowadays, the two-time First-Team All-Pro defensive lineman pointed out one trait current NFL players have excelled at:
“I think they can compartmentalize business and personal. They can be social with players that they play against, and then when it comes time to buckle it up, it’s a different thing,” the NFL 1980s All-Decade Team member expressed.
The dynamics among opponent players have surely changed in the present times, as Long points out, present-day players can compartmentalize their on-field versus off-field rivals. Players can now be fierce rivals on the field while also being good friends off it. A prime example of this is Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, who enjoyed a respectful rivalry and also a spectacular friendship, though they did try to hide that fact for a long time.
