MIAMI -- Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen has opened the door for John Elway to become a minority owner of the team if the star quarterback chooses to retire after Super Bowl XXXIII.
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| Broncos owner Pat Bowlen is spending Super Bowl week in the fast lane |
In a story in Tuesday's editions of the Denver Post, Bowlen said, "It would be a natural. I know if John retires and he's thinking about his future, we'd sit down and talk about him owning a piece of the team. I know he doesn't want to be a coach. I think he wants to work here, but I think he probably wants to be part of the ownership team. I'd welcome him."
According to Bowlen, he has had informal discussions with Elway about the topic and the quarterback is "receptive to the idea."
Of course, Elway has other issues to work out in the meantime. The first being whether he will indeed retire after Sunday's game.
"If he won two straight Super Bowls with a chance to win three," ESPN's Chris Mortensen said, "that probably leaves a little bit of an opening in the window."
"I don't know how it will work," Bowlen told the Post. "When the time is appropriate -- and it is not now -- I'd be willing to sit down and discuss it with him. But I basically own the club, and I am not selling very much of it to anybody, I can tell you that."
Mortensen says the arrangement is a natural fit and has been discussed over the past year.
"Pat is not a guy heavy in cash," Mortensen said. "Bringing on Elway, who is heavy in cash after selling his auto dealerships worth about $80 million, is a natural."
Also from Mortensen's notebook:
Before Pro Player Stadium opened to the media Tuesday, Falcons coach Dan Reeves and legendary golfer Greg Norman took a walk on the field together. The grass comes from Norman's turf farm, one of his side businesses. Happy with what he saw, Norman boarded a helicopter and headed to the airport on his way back to Australia. Reeves and Norman probably can identify with each other, because they have both come up short in the "big one."
Expect former Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor to make the Pro Football Hall of Fame on the first ballot Saturday -- but it will not be without a debate. "This will be a heated session on Saturday morning," Mortensen said. "Some guys, on principle, will not vote for LT the first time around ... the old-time voters. That's flawed thinking. His most recent problems came after his playing career. He belongs in the Hall of Fame."
Falcons linebacker Cornelius Bennett has been warning his teammates about partying too hard this week. Bennett said his Bills teammates partied too much going into their four Super Bowl appearances
Terrell Davis says he's not a breakaway runner: "If I had to go 90 yards, I might not make it. I can probably run 40-50 yards, but that's all."
Jamal Anderson, responding to a question on whether he was the league's best dancer, given his Dirty Bird routine: "Who dances better than me?" He stops for a moment, then decides, "Deion (Sanders) is very fluid."
The first time Shannon Sharpe and Jessie Tuggle met, they were playing for rival Division II schools in Georgia -- Sharpe at Savannah State and Tuggle at Valdosta State. "Jessie was a senior and I was a freshman, and when we played Valdosta State, they beat us," Sharpe said. "You don't see this opportunity very often, when you have two small-town guys who can really make a difference in a ballgame. It's an honor to be in a situation like this. I wish Jessie the best of luck, but not in this game."
According to ESPN The Magazine's John Clayton: Mike Reinfeldt, vice president of administration/chief financial officer of the Green Bay Packers, is leaving the team to join former Packers coach Mike Holmgren in Seattle. Reinfeldt accepted a similar job with the Seahawks, where he will negotiate player contracts and oversee salary-cap issues for Holmgren, who is coach, general manager and vice president of football operations for the Seahawks.
The weather report for Miami: more of the same. For Wednesday, it will be in the high 70s with a low in the high 60s. ... Harrison Ford is in South Beach working on a new film, "Random Hearts," and Oliver Stone is taking advantage of the Super Bowl atmosphere to begin filming his football flick, "Any Given Sunday." Al Pacino and Cameron Diaz star will star in the latter. ... Members of the Falcons made a trip to legendary restaurant Joe's Stone Crab on Sunday night, and the Broncos made their appearance Monday. ... Falcons receiver Tony Martin is 33 years old, playing in Super Bowl XXXIII (33). He played in Super Bowl XXIX (29) when he was 29. Both were in Miami. Martin, who is from Miami, started his career with the Dolphins. ... The Broncos' travel squad this week includes an obstetrician. Four of the players' wives who made the trip are pregnant.
Murphy: Eating it all up
