The NFL draft had never seen a prospect like John Elway.
Then again, in 1983, very few people had ever seen the NFL draft.
Elway, the impeccable Stanford talent with the golden right arm and the hair to match, appeared certain to be headed to the Baltimore Colts, who had the No. 1 pick after going 0-8-1 the previous year.
Yet Elway was about to do something unprecedented, and attempt to control his own destiny.
He made it publicly known he wouldn’t play for the Colts, wanting nothing to do with coach Frank Kush and the uncertainty of a potential franchise relocation. The decision turned the draft into a media circus. And, Elway threatened, he could always play baseball, having been a second-round draft pick of the Yankees in 1981.
With Elway’s feelings being public in the weeks before the draft, millions of football fans were fascinated by a singular question: What would the Colts do?
On Tuesday, April 26, 1983, the 48th annual NFL draft commenced.
What nobody knew was the following 24 hours—a day headlined by a record six first-round quarterbacks, including Elway, Jim Kelly and Dan Marino, who would all end up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame—would change the sport forever.
“The ’83 draft was a dramatic turning point,” says Leigh Steinberg, a headlining NFL agent since ’75. “Having quarterbacks who were considered franchise quarterbacks, leading the way to a very different NFL. Back in the ’70s, football was run on first down, run on second down and maybe you took a chance to pass on third down. All of a sudden, here comes a dramatic shift with West Coast offenses and the rest of it. … It changed the way football was played.”
The 1983 draft produced a ridiculous number of fantasy superstars
In the minutes preceding the first pick, ESPN’s fourth annual telecast consisted of speculation on potential trade partners for Baltimore. The Patriots were believed to be offering multiple first- and second-round picks. The Chargers were thought to be involved in talks while at an impasse on long-term negotiations with quarterback Dan Fouts. The Raiders were attempting to acquire the Bears’ first-round selection, giving owner Al Davis two firsts to work with.
Then, Howard Balzer of —working for ESPN as a live analyst alongside ’s Paul Zimmerman and host George Grande—provided a final thought before the cameras cut to an interview with NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle.
“Denver might even be a late possibility as well.”
At 8 a.m. ET, Rozelle stepped to the microphone at the New York Sheridan Hotel and put the Colts on the clock. Nine seconds later, the card was turned in.
Quarterback, John Elway, Stanford.
In the hotel ballroom and around the country, people had a reaction. It’s probably the first draft pick in NFL history for which that can be said.
