With Elway's decision to stay, Broncos' odds won't change

What a melancholy fate awaits the gifted professional athlete as he nears retirement. At a time when his skills are declining and he may even be deemed expendable, those his same age in the general population are on the threshold of their greatest successes.

For that athlete, the transformation from idol to idle leads to mixed emotions.

By his own timetable, today is the day John Elway must come to grips with his future. Should he, at almost 38 years old, stay on for a 16th season in the National Football League and quarterback the defending Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos in 1998? Or should he bow out gracefully and on top, as two other veteran quarterbacks did in the past after reaching the pinnacle of their profession?

Elway has wrestled with the dilemma for four months. "June 1," he has continually said to those anxious for his decision.

Among those on pins and needles -- and the anxious include a couple million people in Colorado -- are Las Vegas sports book directors. Without Elway, the futures number on the Broncos is obsolete.

"It's simple," said Las Vegas Hilton vice president Art Manteris. "I don't think the Broncos are going to repeat anyway, but they've got no chance to win it again without Elway. He has an enormous impact on that team and they absolutely cannot win again without him.

"I think they only won last time (against Green Bay) because he personally wanted it so bad he carried them."

The Hilton opened the Broncos at 7 to 1 to win the 1999 Super Bowl and bettors knocked the number down to 6 to 1 in quick order. That line will be altered again if Elway retires.

"I'd say it'll go to 12 to 1," Manteris said. "The number we have up is in anticipation of him playing. If he doesn't, the number will change considerably."

Elway, who is scheduled to earn $6.8 million if he plays in '98, probably comes back. Denver radio station KOA reported Sunday that he would be back and that he would announce it at least by Tuesday.

It's said Elway has been working out four days a week and the Broncos have a stadium initiative before Denver voters in November, and Elway's presence on the team would have to help the item pass. (Team man that he is, the latter is no small consideration in his decision-making process.)

Should he retire, the Broncos will suffer a huge loss at the game's most important position, as they have only veteran journeyman Bubby Brister and the completely untested Jeff Lewis back at quarterback. In a rather puzzling move, the Broncos have also made it clear that if Elway quits they won't go after a free-agent fix like Vinnie Testaverde or Neil O'Donnell even though either would be an improvement over Brister.

Every sports fan has an opinion on what Elway should do. Some advocate going out on the crest of the championship wave, as Hall of Fame quarterbacks Otto Graham (1955) and Norm Van Brocklin (1961) did after leading the Browns and Eagles, respectively, to NFL titles; others picture Elway on a triumphant final tour of the league, accepting accolades at every stop on Denver's 1998 schedule.

If the decision was an easy one, Elway would have already made it. Instead, he's whistling as D-Day arrives, contemplating a life outside the spotlight even if he'll always have a step up on the middle class.

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