Life is weird. Weird stuff happens. Already in 2017, we’ve seen a grilled cheese sandwich held hostage and Antarctica give birth to an iceberg the size of Delaware. But around these parts, here’s maybe the weirdest thing of all: The Broncos have dillied and dallied in getting signed to a new contract.
Whatap the dang deal?
Way back on the second day of January, I asked Broncos president why Elway was working in the final year of his deal and if we should be concerned the face of the franchise could walk as a free agent.
Nearly 200 days ago, Ellis told me: “I don’t really see (John) working anywhere else. And I feel itap important I do everything I can to make sure that doesn’t happen. Look at his record. Quite frankly, I could see teams calling and saying: ‘Hey, we’d like to have a discussion.’ I have no interest in losing him. I have every interest in keeping him.”
Well, life moves pretty fast, doesn’t it, Ferris?
Shortly after Ellis pledged his commitment to keeping Elway as the guru of football operations, I read a strange story about a guy in Maryland so irked about a family member sneaking a bite of his grilled cheese sandwich he chased everybody out of the house and barricaded himself and his meal inside until the cops arrived.
Which was pretty weird. But no weirder than: The Broncos have been in contract negotiations with Elway since at least October. And whatap happened so far? Zippo. Could Elway ever work for another NFL team? Oh, I doubt it, too. But stranger endings have happened.
Can I give you an example? The envelope, please. In February, Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway announced the fake news that “La La Land” had won the academy award for best picture.
If the team let Elway get away, apountry would have a bigger meltdown than the Starbucks barista driven crazy by a Unicorn Frappuccino. Yet, in late April, when asked for an update on contract talks after the first round on the NFL draft, Elway curtly replied: “We’re not going to talk about that. We’re in the middle of this. We’re trying to get better as a football team. We’ll talk about that later.”
Alrighty then.
Hey, the big stuff takes time. That might explain why Emily Seilhamer, a 24-year-old designer from Pennsylvania, was so proud in May when announcing she had completed a dress made entirely out of 10,000 Starburst candy wrappers. About the same time, Elway vowed he “looked forward to being here with the Broncos for a long time” and added “I don’t think there will be any doubt” a deal would get done before Denver opened the season in September.
Well, the 57th birthday of Elway came and went. None of us is getting any younger. The Fourth of July has been crossed off the summer calendar, little yellow minions have made $160 million at the box office, Broncos training camp is just around the corner, and I have one nagging question for Mr. Ellis: Are we there yet?
New coach doesn’t know who his starting quarterback is. The team’s stadium has been without a proper name since 2016. Elway is in the final year of his contract. This is not exactly business as usual.
Think the Broncos miss around Dove Valley Headquarters?
How hard could it be to cut a deal with Elway, the one man most responsible for the franchise’s three victories? Whatap it going to take to get Elway to sign on the bottom line? An ownership stake in the Broncos? Or a total eclipse of the sun?
