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The 10 greatest false alarms in NFL history: an April Fools special

By Erik Lambert

NEW YORK CITY - APRIL 24: Quarterback Eli Manning (Mississippi) stands next to his older brother QB Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts after Eli was selected first overall by the San Diego Chargers at the 2004 NFL Draft on April 24, 2004 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Manning was later traded to the New York Giants in exchange for QB Philip Rivers (North Carolina State) and New York's third-round pick (No. 65), which they use to select Iowa K Nate Kaeding, and the Giants' first-round and fifth-round picks in the 2005 draft. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images)
NEW YORK CITY - APRIL 24: Quarterback Eli Manning (Mississippi) stands next to his older brother QB Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts after Eli was selected first overall by the San Diego Chargers at the 2004 NFL Draft on April 24, 2004 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Manning was later traded to the New York Giants in exchange for QB Philip Rivers (North Carolina State) and New York's third-round pick (No. 65), which they use to select Iowa K Nate Kaeding, and the Giants' first-round and fifth-round picks in the 2005 draft. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images) /
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DENVER – SEPTEMBER 26: A John Elway Drive sign lays on the curb as the Denver Broncos host the San Diego Chargers on September 26, 2004 at Invesco Field in Denver, Colorado. The Broncos defeated the Chargers 23-13. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
DENVER – SEPTEMBER 26: A John Elway Drive sign lays on the curb as the Denver Broncos host the San Diego Chargers on September 26, 2004 at Invesco Field in Denver, Colorado. The Broncos defeated the Chargers 23-13. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

01. John Elway spurns the Colts and forces trade to Denver

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One could say that Elway is easily the biggest tease in NFL history. If that near-miss trade to Washington wasn’t big enough, his headline-stealing maneuvers prior to and during the 1983 NFL draft are the stuff of legends. Going into April, it was becoming clear that the Baltimore Colts, who had the #1 overall pick, intended to draft Elway. This did not sit well with the young quarterback who knew team owner Robert Irsay was known for not being entirely committed to building a winner.

Thus he made the hugely controversial decision to declare that if the Colts drafted him, he would refuse to play for them. That meant they had two choices. Either trade his rights to another team or watch go play baseball for the New York Yankees who had just drafted him as well. Colts GM Ernie Accorsi was open to trading the #1 pick, but his price tag was deemed too high by teams going into the draft.

Accorsi refused to lower it, believing someone would come around eventually provided he stayed patient. Unfortunately, Irsay wasn’t willing to wait. He overrode Accorsi, took over discussions, and ended up trading Elway to the Denver Broncos for guard Chris Hinton and a 1st round pick in 1984. Elway went on to a Hall of Fame career. The Colts ended up moving to Indianapolis.

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