John Elway had a tremendous NFL profession. He threw for greater than 50,000 yards, an excellent 300 landing passes, and made 9 Pro Bowl groups. He rode off into the sundown, too. His closing two seasons ended with Super Bowl championships.
John’s final NFL recreation was Super Bowl XXXIII, which came about on January 31, 1999. In that recreation, John led the Broncos to a 34-19 victory over the Falcons and was named Super Bowl MVP. It was the proper capstone to an unimaginable 16-year profession. A few months later, on May 2, 1999, John formally introduced his retirement from the NFL.
But there is a twist. The 1998 NFL common season kicked off (actually) on September 6, 1998. A few weeks later, Broncos proprietor Pat Bowlen approached John Elway with a proposal. At the time, the Broncos owed $21 million in deferred wage.
Bowlen offered Elway with the next alternative:
- The probability to purchase 10% of the crew for $15 million.
- The probability to earn one other 10% if Elway agreed to forgo his $21 million deferred wage.
To simplify and mix, Bowlen was providing to promote Elway 20% of the Broncos for $36 million, whereas solely having to give you $15 million in money down. At these numbers, the crew was valued at $180 million.
And Bowlen even threw in a sweetener.
If, for no matter motive, Elway was sad along with his funding after 5 years, Bowlen would purchase him out at his buy value plus $5 million. Elway would even have the fitting of first refusal to purchase any further stake within the crew, ought to the Bowlen household promote.
At this level, Elway had made greater than $50 million throughout his NFL profession and only one 12 months earlier offered his John Elway Autos automotive dealership to AutoNation for $82.5 million. That deal included an annual licensing payment that Elway would obtain for the subsequent decade. So he was flush.
Tragically, regardless of this being a relative pittance to personal 20% of an NFL crew (all issues thought of), John Elway DECLINED the provide. Fast ahead to 2022, and this formally turned a horrible mistake…
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It Gets Worse
John declined the provide partly as a result of he had a unique funding in thoughts. Unfortunately, that different funding turned out to be a $150 million Ponzi scheme. John misplaced $15 million within the rip-off.
Meanwhile, a few 12 months after the mud settled across the Ponzi scheme, the Broncos had been valued at $1 billion for the primary time.
Seeking A Buyer
Pat Bowlen was recognized with Alzheimer’s in 2014. He died in June 2019. Between 2014 and 2022, the Broncos had been managed by an entity referred to as the “Bowlen Trust,” which was overseen by Pat’s seven kids. As you may think, coming to a consensus on what to do with the crew was tough when there have been seven voices chiming in.
On February 1, 2022, the Bowlen Trust introduced its intention to start the method of discovering a purchaser. On August 9, 2022, the Bowlen Trust introduced it had agreed to promote the Broncos to a bunch of traders led primarily by Walmart inheritor Rob Walton. The value Walton agreed to pay?
$4.65 billion
You’re in all probability already doing the maths on what which means to John Elway’s misplaced 20% stake. At the $4.65 billion, Elway’s 20% stake can be value…
$930 million
And please recall that John might have owned his 20% stake for simply $36 million.
While John Elway sits atop a superbly spectacular $145 million internet value, a slight coincidence might have put him in a completely completely different league. Had he accepted the provide again in 1998, right this moment he’d probably be approaching billionaire standing right this moment, not simply as a Hall of Fame quarterback, however as one of many wealthiest former athletes in historical past.
