After John Elway refused to play for the Baltimore Colts in 1983, they agreed to trade him to the Denver Broncos in exchange for offensive tackle Chris Hinton (who was Denver’s first-round pick in 1983), quarterback Mark Herrmann and a 1984 first-round pick (guard Ron Solt).
Hinton was a five-time All-Pro and earned seven Pro Bowl nods during his career and Solt made one Pro Bowl, but a pair of star offensive linemen don’t outweigh a franchise quarterback.
Elway went on to win two Super Bowls, plus league MVP and Super Bowl MVP awards. A nine-time Pro Bowler, Elway was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 2004.
In hindsight, the trade was an extremely lopsided deal for Denver. The Broncos had leverage, though, because Elway had told the Colts he would play baseball if they did not trade him.
Denver’s current coach, Sean Payton, thinks the Colts made a mistake.
“Elway was picked No. 1 overall, I always said I would have never made that trade,” Payton said after a minicamp practice on June 14. “I would have forced him to play with the Yankees. I’ve gotten to know John really well. I think it was the 40th anniversary recently of that trade. I texted him [it is] the worst trade in the history of football.”
Late Colts owner Robert Irsay traded Elway and he apparently did not consult the team’s general manager or head coach before making the move. His son, Jim, is now Indy’s owner and CEO and the younger Irsay has said he would not have made the trade if it was his call.
“There’s no way I would’ve traded him,” Irsay said during an interview with “Eye Test for Two” podcast earlier this month. “Are you kidding me?”
Irsay has also said Elway was the third-best player in NFL history, so it’s no surprise that he regrets his father’s decision in hindsight.
For the Broncos, it was the best move in franchise history.
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