It's been quite the ride but John Elway is officially moving onto the next chapter of his life. The Hall of Fame quarterback saw his contract with the Denver Broncos expire recently and on Friday, he revealed to Woody Paige of the Denver Gazette that he plans to step away from football after 62 years of the sport being the center of his life.

“I don’t have that desire to climb another mountain again. I’ve been to the summit a bunch of times in 62 years,” Elway said.

“I’ve got the (Elway) restaurants and (Elway) car dealerships and other (enterprises) to keep me busy enough. I want to play golf. (He once shot 67 on the member tees at Augusta National) The No. 1 trip on my bucket list is to Normandy (the landing area of the Allies’ invasion in World War II), I’ve always wanted to go there. (His wife) Paige and I want to take a boat trip to the Greek Isles, and I’ll spend a lot of my time with my grandkids.”

John Elway has certainly accomplished everything there is to accomplish in the NFL. He's the only person ever to win three Super Bowls both as a player and a general manager. Elway knew when his deal ran out as a consultant for the Broncos in March it was the right time for him to walk away and let the Denver ownership handle things moving forward, but Elway made it clear he's also just a phone call away if the franchise ever needs anything:

“it was time to step aside and let all the new people take over. I’ve been with the Broncos for 28 years over the past 40 years since I came to Denver, and I can’t think of a better ownership that (the late) Pat (Bowlen) could have as his successor. The Walton-Penner ownership group wants to win, intends to win and has the wherewithal to win. I’ll always be a Bronco and a fan, and I told (CEO) Greg Penner I’m here if they call on me for anything.’’

John Elway played 16 seasons in the league and then served as the Broncos GM from 2011-20 before serving in a different roles across the last two years. He will be missed.