Elam was a three-time Pro Bowl pick with the Broncos and was tied with Tom Dempsey, Sebastian Janikowski, and David Akers for the longest field goal in NFL history at 63 yards until it was broken by another Bronco, Matt Prater, on December 8, 2013, with a 64-yard field goal. Elam also won two Super Bowls with Denver in 1998 and 1999.
Elam played high school football at Miami Christian School in Florida and college football at the University of Miami. He started his professional career with the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent in 1997 and spent three seasons with them. In 2000, he joined the Denver Broncos and stayed there until 2012, when he retired after 17 years in the league. He finished his career with 200 victories against only 66 losses.
After retiring from playing, Elam became the color commentator for Broncos games on CBS. He will be replaced as quarterback Peyton Manning's backup by former Indianapolis Colt Billy Volek.
Elam has two children: a daughter named Lyla and a son named Tatum.
He married his wife Michelle in 2001 and they have one child together, a son named Gunner. They were married for ten years before divorcing in 2011.
In 2012, Elam came out of retirement to play for the Buffalo Bills but was released after one season.
Despite Elway's 304-yard throwing performance, the Broncos lost the Super Bowl against the New York Giants 39-20. Elway tossed for 3,198 yards and 19 touchdowns in 12 games during the strike-shortened 1987 season and ran for a career-high 304 yards. But he also threw five interceptions and was sacked 11 times by the Giants defense.
Elway had one final chance at redemption in Denver. However, he was beaten out for the starting job by Kyle Orton and ended up being traded to Dallas before the start of the 1989 season.
He finished his NFL career with the Cowboys, retiring after nine seasons. During that time, he played in 152 games, started 146 of them, and completed 62 percent of his passes for 24,904 yards with 175 touchdowns and 122 interceptions. He also ran for 2,219 yards and 21 scores.
Elway was named the MVP of the AFC following the 1987 season when he led the Broncos to their first championship since 1963. He was awarded the honor over Tom Brady and Joe Montana of the San Francisco 49ers.
After retirement, Elway went on to have a successful stint as a television analyst for NBC Sports. He currently lives in Colorado with his wife, Gail, and their four children. His son, Jesse, plays football for Maryland and his daughter, Ashley, attends South Mountain High School in Highlands Ranch, Colorado.
As the Broncos' quarterback, Elway quickly established himself as one of the league's most feared. He led his squad to five victories in six AFC championship games and two Super Bowl titles from 1983 to 1998. During that period, Elway never lost a game.
Elway was named the MVP of both games he played in during his career. In fact, he's the only player ever to score a touchdown in the opening drive of both Championship Games I and II. The last player to do so was Brett Favre in 2009 when he led the Green Bay Packers to victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers with a touchdown pass of his own.
During his illustrious career, Elway completed 588 of 1,054 passes for 7,245 yards and 53 touchdowns against only 10 interceptions. He also ran for 2,010 yards and 21 scores as a rusher. His.720 winning percentage is second all-time among quarterbacks who have appeared in at least one postseason game. The first name on that list is Joe Montana who won three out of four Super Bowls he participated in with the 49ers from 1978 to 1990.
When Elway retired after the 1998 season, he had won more games than any other quarterback in NFL history. He went out on top, having passed for more than 3,000 yards each year during his 20-year career.
Green Bay Packers-Super Bowl XXXI, Desmond Howard, KR/PR Desmond Howard, the first and only special teams player to win Super Bowl MVP, established a then-record for longest return, returning a second-half kickoff for a 99-yard score. The Green Bay Packers defeated the New England Patriots by the score of 21-10.
Howard's return gave the Packers great field position for their final touchdown, which came on a 1-yard plunge by running back John Kuhn with just over a minute left in the third quarter. It was his second trip to the podium this year after winning the award in February for his role in the Orlando Predators' victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFL Europe Championship Game.
The only other special teams player to win the honor is Eric Dickerson, who captured it in 1990 while playing for the Los Angeles Rams. Dickerson is one of three players who have won the award twice (the others are Brian Mitchell and Jerome Bettis).
There have been nine different players who have been nominated for the award since its inception in 1979. Howard is the only player to win more than once. His coach, Mike Sherman, has been nominated four times without success.