Feb. 21, 2026, 5:01 a.m. MT

Former Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway is often asked who was his favorite receiver. His usual reply is, “The open one.” In the same breath, he then says, “No. 2 is Shannon Sharpe.”

It is no surprise that Elway and fellow Pro Football Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe still have such a close relationship to this day. Elway and Sharpe were teammates on the Broncos from 1990-1998, during which time the duo provided one of the most lethal quarterback-tight end connections in NFL history.

Sharpe recently invited Elway onto his “Club Shay Shay” podcast, where they sat down and reminisced about days gone past. Some of the topics they discussed included Elway’s recent Netflix documentary, playing cards and competing as teammates, Elway’s documented dislike of Hall of Fame quarterback Terry Bradshaw, and Elway’s life after football.

One of the best moments the two talked about was a crucial third down in the 1997 AFC Championship game against the Pittsburgh Steelers to send the Broncos into Super Bowl XXXII. “We gotta set this up,” said Elway. “We’re in Pittsburgh and we went up 21-3 in the first half (“We feelin’ good about ourselves,” said Sharpe).

Pittsburgh had come back and made it a game, and the game would come down to a crucial third and six. “We need this first down,” Elway recounted. “We either make this play or we don’t. Timeout, we go to the sideline. (Offensive coordinator) Gary (Kubiak) and (head coach) Mike (Shanahan) are over there and say, ‘OK, we’re going to go 324 All Hitch’… I get to the huddle and tell everyone 324 All Hitch, and I told everybody, ‘Get down past the first down marker…’ As soon as I say 324 All Hitch… Shannon starts to go ‘It ain’t in the game plan! It ain’t in the game plan!’ I said, ‘It is now!'”

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Sharpe would go on to catch that pass, sending Denver to the Super Bowl, and their first-ever world championship.

Filled with laughs and stories you’ve likely never heard before, you can watch the nearly two-hour exchange between the Broncos legends below.

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