As expected, two of the NFL’s most dominating and exciting players made it in Saturday on their first attempt.
Elway, the king of the comeback, and Sanders, the master of escape, cemented their status among the all-time greats, and were joined by Bob Brown and Carl Eller.
“Until you said no way, or I was in the locker room taking my uniform off, I was going to try to find a way to win it,” said Elway, the winningest quarterback in NFL history with 148 victories.
“I want to tell every guy I played with, ‘Thanks,’” he said.
Elway played in five Super Bowls, losing the first three then winning two in a row as his 16-year career wound down.
Sanders was the first player to rush for 1,000 yards in his first 10 seasons, leading the league four times. In 1997, he was co-MVP with Green Bay Packers QB Brett Favre after rushing for 2,053 yards, only the third player to exceed 2,000 yards in a season. He ran for 100 yards or more in 14 consecutive games.
Sanders retired at 31, in his prime, calling it “the right time.”
