“John Elway could have made $900 million if not for a costly mistake in 1998”: How the Broncos legend lost out on the $4.5 billion sale for the franchise

John Elway is currently the president of the Denver Broncos, and if not for a mistake in 1998, he could have made nearly $1 billion from the team’s record sale.

John Elway was the Broncos quarterback from 1983 to 1999, and he guided the franchise to incredible success. He won two Super Bowls with the team, and he was the Super Bowl MVP in 1999.

He also won MVP in 1987, showing he was one of the most dominant quarterbacks in the league at the time. Elway’s dual threat ability made him a great talent, and he showed it by forming a special connection with legendary tight end Shannon Sharpe.

Elway in 1987 passed for a career high 266.5 yards per game while throwing 19 touchdowns and guiding Denver to an 8-3-1 record while he was playing.

For his career, Elway finished with 51,475 yards, ranking 11th all time, and 300 touchdowns, ranking 13th all time. Simply put, he’s one of the greats of the game.

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John Elway made a costly mistake in 1998 costing him $900 million

With the Broncos recently being sold for $4.5 billion, it’s worth looking deeper into the sale. The Broncos were ultimately sold for a whopping $4.65 billion which would make it the largest purchase of an American sports franchise in history.

Walmart heir Rob Walton had the winning bid. Walton’s net worth is estimated be around a massive $59 billion, showing how absurdly rich you’d have to be to even consider buying one of these teams.

Back n 1998, then Broncos owner offered Elway what seemed like a great deal. He was giving away 10% of the team away for the $21 million they owed him contractually and another 10% for $15 million.

Wanting to save his money and keep it for other things, Elway rejected the deal which would have given him 20% ownership of the team. Well, that 20% equity stake would be worth $1 billion today at 1,330% ROI. That’s a massive loss for Elway who would have come out with a $900 million profit.

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