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The news that John Elway has landed the role of president of football operations means that the team’s next GM will have a chance to quickly study the role of the new John Elway of the franchise.
According to a source with knowledge of the situation, the search for a new general manager could eventually lead the team to someone who becomes the primary and eventual football manager at the team within a year.
Much of that depends on what happens to Elway after 2021. He has one year left on his contract. This new role could eventually lead to Elway not staying with the team in any capacity. Any new agreement should at least reflect Elway’s new role and responsibilities.
It is not expected to change its existing remuneration (which according to some in league circles is between $ 6 million a year). But because a large portion of his work goes to someone new, it will likely also be a large portion of his salary (if he stays longer than 2021).
The new GM could also end up with the kind of contract, in value and duration, that provides security in case the current ownership issues lead to a sale. In other cities, a six-year agreement that is fully guaranteed has become dysfunctional insurance. The new GM in Denver can get something like this if he is appointed to ensure that, if there will be new ownership within the next few years and want to have his own GM, there will be financial security.
With no owner in Denver yet, as trustees work to resolve a unique Willie Wonka competition within the family, Elway essentially becomes the de facto owner because it is related to the football industry. This makes the vacancies of Broncos GM substantially different from the openings in Houston, Atlanta and Detroit, where other executives serve as a buffer between the GM and the owner. With the Broncos, Elway plays the same role that an owner would play elsewhere. As for football, there really is no one in Elway, as Joe Ellis handles the business side of the business.
Although at first the work seemed bleak or it would be possible GM Lite, the more accurate characterization is that it is a traditional GM task, that the GM will have absolutely final say over all football matters, that Elway will not be involved in the daily grind, that Elway may not even be on the team come 2022, and the new GM will operate with essentially the same kind of autonomy that Elway enjoyed, in the absence of a traditional owner.
Honestly, it seems that Elway in any other organization would have simply been relieved of all duties by receiving a one-year buyout. In Denver, there was an important role for Elway, because the trustees who have run the franchise for years have not yet decided which child of Pat Bowlen will get the keys to the chocolate factory.