John Elway’s contractual connection with the Denver Broncos has come to a close.
The pre-eminent figure in franchise history never figures to end up too far from the team he led to a pair of Super Bowl titles as a quarterback, and then to another title as its general manager. But his contract with the franchise concluded at the end of the league year last month and is not being renewed, the team confirmed Tuesday.
Elway did not return phone calls from The Post seeking comment, but the Hall of Fame quarterback did confirm the news to 9News, saying the franchise is “in good hands,” under its new ownership.
Elway has served as a consultant for the past year after more than a decade as a high-ranking franchise executive. Over the past year, he was available to general manager George Paton and others but was not frequently in the building or involved in any real capacity in the day-to-day running of the franchise.
Before that, though, he was the top football executive from 2011-21 as general manager and executive vice president of football operations.
After the 2021 season and a decade of being Denver’s top football decision-maker, he gave up the general manager role, transitioned to the role of president of football operations and hired George Paton as general manager.
“I knew there was going to be a time at some point in time, this was a position I would, hopefully, move to,” Elway said at the conclusion of the 2021 season. “It gave me the opportunity to move up and I think it’s the right time for me.”
After a year in that position, Elway moved out of the president of football operations role in February 2022 and became a consultant to the franchise. That move happened about the same time as the Broncos officially went up for sale.
Elway expressed interest that spring to The Post in becoming part of an ownership group. When the Walton-Penner Family Ownership Group took control of the franchise in August, Elway kept the consulting title through the end of the league year, which arrived March 15.
Though his most official role in the day-to-day operation of the franchise ended more than a year ago, there is still symbolic weight in Elway formally stepping away. The three-time Super Bowl champion — twice as a player and once as an executive — built a Hall of Fame career with the Broncos, then ran the franchise for more than a decade.
Elway helped build some of the most prolific offenses in franchise history with Peyton Manning at the helm during his tenure as general manager, including a 2012 team that topped 30 points per game and then bested that mark in 2013 by scoring 606 points (37.9 per game). The Broncos topped 30 per game again in 2014 before breaking through and winning the Super Bowl in 2015 on the strength of their defense. They won the AFC West all four of those seasons and also appeared in a Super Bowl in 2013.
When the new ownership group was introduced in August, Penner was asked about the possibility of Elway or Peyton Manning at some point joining the ownership as a limited shareholder. In answering that question, Penner gave a nod to Elway and said, “John Elway is the ultimate Bronco. He won championships as both a player and an executive. I have had a chance to visit with him and look forward to learning as much from him as possible.”
The formalized part of that relationship has now run its course, but Elway will no doubt always be a part of the Broncos.
_____
