Kiszla: John Elway scrambling to find billionaire to let old quarterback be part of Broncos new ownership team

The rink was rocking at the good old hockey game with the best kind of lung-rattling loud. Some goon from Minnesota wearing No. 18 on his Ugly Christmas Sweater took a run and delivered a cheap shot to the head of Avalanche goalie Darcy Keumper. And Colorado fans all went insane.

Then my cell phone rang.

“This is John,” he said Monday afternoon, in a distinctive voice so authoritative it cut through the happy din of Ball Arena that was banging on my eardrums like a gong.

The Duke of Denver wanted to chat.

If it had been anyone other than John Elway on the phone, I might have told him to call back later,  because I was busy watching a team, unlike the Broncos, that actually has a chance to win a championship.

“Where are you at?” Elway asked.

“At a hockey game,” I replied.

“Are your kids playing?” Elway inquired.

“No, my kids can’t skate backwards. And they’re grown adults now, John. So their youth sports careers are long over. I’m at the Avalanche game,” I told Elway, scrambling from my seat in the press box to a quiet hallway. “What’s up? Let’s talk.”

Elway wanted me to know the worst-kept secret in Denver: The Broncos are going to be put on the auction block. Sooner rather than later. And Elway is scrambling to be part of an ownership group that buys the team.

“I’m not interested in being the face of the franchise. That’s the job of the next coach and the quarterback and general manager George Paton,” Elway said.

“Whoever buys the team is going be the face of the franchise, and that’s the way it should be, because the next owner will invest a lot of money in the Broncos. But after being in Denver nearly 40 years, and being involved in the team as a player or in the front office for most of those years, the Broncos are part of my life. I would like to support the new owner however I can. That’s the role I would like to have.”

I asked Elway if he had an agreement with any potential buyer to be part of a formal bid for the Broncos.

“No,” Elway said. “I’m not formally engaged with one certain group or another.”

Nearly 40 years after arriving in Colorado as a rookie phenom out of Stanford, Elway doesn’t want to be hands-on with management of the Broncos anywhere near 24/7, but also he doesn’t want to say goodbye. It’s tough for a quarterback to take his ball and go home.

So at age 61, when he could retire to the golf course, Elway is doing what he did best while throwing 300 touchdown passes for the Broncos from 1983-98. The old QB is trying to extend the play, scrambling to sign on with a business tycoon who has the financial wherewithal to purchase a team that could conceivably sell for $4 billion. Elway would like to stay involved with the new ownership in a limited role, out of the spotlight, as an advisor to the primary owner.

Well, Mr. Elway, I’d like to own a piece of the Broncos, too. I could make lively conversation while chowing down on jumbo shrimp in the owner’s box at Empower Field, don’t you think? But as of yet, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos hasn’t reached out to me.

And I get it: A multi-billionaire might think it’s more fun to join forces with Elway. So I’d be happy to help out Elway while he’s fishing for a nibble and pass along his phone number to any business tycoon who might think it would be groovy to rub elbows with an A-list football celebrity.

The sale of the Broncos could not only produce a bidding war (or so the heirs of Pat Bowlen hope), but some juicy clickbait headlines on the internet.

“The last thing I want,” Elway told me, “is for this sale to be a John Elway-versus-Peyton Manning thing.”

But as wickedly competitive as Elway has been his entire life, it’s hard not to think: After he was unable to pull the trigger on a deal when Bowlen offered him a 20% ownership stake in the Broncos more than 20 years ago, Elway would bristle if forced to watch Manning get a piece of the team now.

It’s only a matter of time before Broncos president Joe Ellis decides he’s ready to open the bidding. While the most-qualified buyer for a $4 billion item isn’t always the highest bidder, there will be no hometown discount given to any potential owner who enlists either Manning or Elway

“That’s 100% correct,” Elway said. “There will be no discount for me. And that’s the way it should be, because this is a business deal.”

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