Denver Broncos Super Bowl icon is worth $150m but turned down $1.3bn franchise fortune

When you are worth almost $150 million, there can’t be too many things in life that you look back on and regret.

Except, of course, if you leave more than a billion dollars on the table.

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In that case, you probably would have done things a little bit differently.

Just ask Denver Broncos legend John Elway.

NFL icon turned down offer to buy Broncos stake

On September 23, 1998, Elway — one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history — received the offer of a lifetime, which he ultimately passed on.

It was an offer that would have set up his family for generations to come.

Broncos owner at the time, the late Pat Bowlen, offered to give Elway the right to buy 10 percent of the team for $15m.

Bowlen also gave the two-time Super Bowl champion the option to buy another 10 percent of the franchise by forgoing the deferred salary he was owed.

That total deferred money was roughly $21 million.

Nearly three decades on, and that 20 percent stake Elway passed on is worth around $1.36 billion. As of August 2025, Forbes values the Broncos at $6.8bn.

Had Elway said yes to Bowlen’s offer, he would have made a jaw-dropping return on his money.

You think the two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback is kicking himself on that one?

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Don’t get it twisted — Elway’s current net worth of around $150m is nothing to scoff at. But $150m isn’t quite $1.36bn.

He had the chance, but passed it up.

How did John Elway invest his money?

Instead, Elway took the $15 million he could have used to purchase the original 10 percent offered to him by Bowlen and invested with business partner Mitch Pierce, in a company that turned out to be a $150m Ponzi scheme.

Elway and Pierce were able to withdraw $6m from their initial investment, but still lost more than $7m.

The Hall of Famer, unfortunately, is no stranger when it comes to bad investments.

Elway has invested in failed companies such as Laundromax, Quepasa, MVP.com, and most notably, the Arena League team, the Colorado Crush.

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A few missteps along the way, but he seems to be doing fine with his fortune.

Is John Elway still involved with the Broncos?

After leading the Broncos to two Lombardi Trophies and retiring at the end of the 1998 season, Elway returned to the organization in 2011 as general manager and executive vice president of football operations.

He was the leading force behind the Broncos signing Peyton Manning in free agency in 2012, which ended up being the catalyst for two more Super Bowl appearances, culminating in winning Super Bowl 50.

Following the 2020 season, the NFL‘s 1987 MVP stepped down from the role of general manager but served as president of football operations, until finally pulling away from the team altogether in April 2023.

Elway and his $150m fortune can now be found competing in golf tournaments, such as the Alfred Dunhill Links Team Championship in St Andrews, alongside the great and the good of the sporting world, and he has also made reality TV appearances.

Despite walking away from a billion-dollar Broncos fortune, the franchise remains close to his heart.

With Denver back in the AFC Championship Game for the first time in a decade, Elway will be at Mile High on Sunday.

He will be the Broncos’ honorary captain, and will be on the field along with the others at the start of the clash against the New England Patriots.

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Elway will then watch as backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham looks to lead Denver to Super Bowl LX in the absence of Bo Nix, who broke his ankle last weekend.

As Broncos QB, Elway secured seven AFC Championship Game victories of his own, and Denver will hope he can be the lucky charm in the stands 28 years after his initial retirement.

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