In an era of America where it feels like conspiracy theories are rampant, it leads to calls back to older times. Especially when the NFL is involved. This league is no stranger to backroom politics and often dirty tactics in order to get desired results. Rigging the draft is certainly one that stands above the rest. Perhaps one of the greatest conspiracies of all-time came out of the fabled 1983 draft. One the Chicago Bears may have had a hand in.
For those not familiar, here’s the recap. Stanford QB John Elway was the consensus #1 prospect in that class. A true franchise talent. The Baltimore Colts held the top pick and initially planned to pick him. However, the QB made history when he declared he would not play football if the Colts made that selection. He later said the instability of that organization was a big reason for his decision.
Baltimore was willing to trade the pick, but only for a particular package. One that included three 1st rounders including a top 6 in that draft and two 2nd rounders. Not many teams were willing to go that high. The Los Angeles Raiders was one that was. Their owner Al Davis loved Elway and wanted to move up for him. It looked like the Raiders had a deal worked out.
Then it vanished.
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Given that John Elway said he wouldn’t play for the Baltimore Colts, it seemed likely a trade would happen around the 1983 NFL draft. And the Los Angeles Raiders wanted a shot at the Stanford star.
Since they held the No. 26 overall selection, though, the Raiders needed to move up. They almost made it happen.
“The Raiders thought they had a deal in place to acquire the rights to John Elway,” per ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez. “The way the Raiders saw it, they were going to get the Chicago Bears’ No. 6 overall pick and flip it as part of a package to the then-Baltimore Colts for Elway.
But the trade—for whatever reason—fell through.
So what happened with the Chicago Bears?
According to Elway’s agent Marvin Demoff, the Raiders had a deal worked out with the Bears. In exchange for #6 overall, they would receive defensive end Howie Long and another player. Long was an emerging defensive end at the time who looked poised to become a dominant pass rusher. One can imagine how the Bears felt about putting him on a front that already featured Dan Hampton and Steve McMichael.
Demoff says the deal was in place. Then out of nowhere, the league office called Bears GM Jim Finks to get confirmation. At that point, everything evaporated. Why? He believes it had to do with the animosity between Davis and Commissioner Pete Rozelle. The two had been locked in a feud that included legal issues over the Raiders’ decision to move from Oakland to L.A. Demoff thinks Rozelle squashed the trade in order to keep Elway away from the Raiders.
The Bears stated it was just a miscommunication on compensation and chose to back out. The Colts eventually traded Elway to the Denver Broncos and the rest is history. Is it true? If so, those with personal knowledge are long gone and can’t confirm it.
