What If Andrew Luck Stiffs the Indianapolis Colts Like John Elway Did?
This idea may be in the head of the Indianapolis Colts front office, but it would be highly unlikely to happen.
In 1983 the Baltimore Colts had the first overall pick. There was another great quarterback from Stanford at that time, John Elway. The Baltimore Colts were coming off an 0-8-1 season.
After a remarkable college career, in which he set nearly every Stanford and Pacific-10 career record for passing and total offense, and finished second in Heisman Trophy balloting as a senior, Elway was regarded as the top prospect in the 1983 NFL draft.
The Baltimore Colts at the time had the top pick and looked poised to land a quarterback capable of building on the remarkable legacy set by John Unitas, but Elway had different ideas. Elway publicly came out to say he won’t play for the Colts, which in turn upset many players that have came before him. Terry Bradshaw publicly criticized Elway for his comments about refusing to play and that he will demand for a trade the moment he is drafted. Elway also threatened to refuse to sign a contract and instead going to the baseball field instead.
Interestingly enough, his leverage came from his ability to play baseball. Elway batted .361 at Stanford and had been drafted by the New York Yankees back in 1981. By the time the football draft rolled around, he had spent two summers with the organization, and threatened to devote himself to baseball full-time.
Eventually, Colts owner Robert Irsay gave in. The Colts traded Elway to the Broncos, and the rest is history.
Fast forward 29 years later, the Indianapolis Colts now have the first pick overall in the 2012 NFL draft. They will be drafting a quarterback to replace the legacy of Peyton Manning. All signs point to drafting a Standford standout, who broke John Elway’s records in college. There are many similarities between the situations, except one. Andrew Luck has not threatened to demand a trade, or to leave for the game of baseball.
Current owner of the Indianapolis Colts Jim Irsay (son of Robert Irsay) will not have the same issues with Andrew Luck as they did with Elway. The facts are Luck can’t be anymore excited to play for the Colts, playing either after Peyton Manning or behind Manning.
John Elway finished his career in Denver and won two Super Bowl titles. Just imagine what would have happened if he were to stay in Baltimore. Would those championships have been won in Baltimore/Indianapolis?
Hard to say, but one thing is certain the Indianapolis Colts will draft Andrew Luck and if they are lucky they will have a great quarterback for the future.
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Its interesting that Jim Irsay comes out last weekend saying he will give away a BMW to anyone who guessed the first round picks of all 32 teams correctly. The very first thing I thought of was the Colts not taking Andrew Luck in the first round with their first pick….
what a great point!
It wouldn’t surprise me to see RG3 as a Colt.
I’m not sure it would be crazy for Luck to stiff the Colts. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1074374-luck-of-the-draft-should-spurn-the-indianapolis-colts