Does Lakers hiring Magic show ‘influence’ of Elway’s Broncos success?

Certainly, Denver Broncos general manager John Elway was not the first hall of fame player to land in a team’s front office. The likes of Nolan Ryan (Texas Rangers) and Ozzie Newsom (Baltimore Ravens) preceded him.

Arguably, Elway’s high profile and recent string of success have left him as the face of the athlete-turned-executive.

But, with the recent hires of former Broncos and Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety John Lynch by the San Francisco 49ers and former hall of famer Magic Johnson by the Los Angeles Lakers, has there been a “John Elway effect” on the world of sports?

“I think what we’re seeing here in many respects is the John Elway influence on sports, that it’s now in vogue to get a guy that was a great player, especially if he was a great player for your franchise, make him the face of your franchise and let him go out and run things,” said Mike Evans, co-host of “Schlereth and Evans,” on Wednesday.

“And the success of Elway, from just a general manager-type perspective, I think has emboldened teams to go out and do this more with the idea that it’s a win-win.”

Elway tenure has not only produced the second-most wins in the NFL since 2011 (73), five consecutive AFC West titles, and a Super Bowl 50 victory but it also put the Denver legend front-and-center one of the faces, if not the face, of Broncos organization, Evans argued.

“Not only do you get somebody that maybe there’s a track record now that they can go out and actually do the job, but in the meantime, while you’re waiting to go through that long rebuilding process, you’ve got somebody that you can slap on now as the marquee face of your franchise to buy you that goodwill,” Evans said.

However, Elway differs from Johnson and Lynch in the sense that he had similar front office experience before joining the Broncos in January 2011. As co-owner and CEO of the Arena Football League’s Colorado Crush from 2002 to 2009, Elway received hands-on experience running the day-to-day operations of a professional sports club.

Johnson has served as an executive with the Lakers and the Los Angeles Dodgers in some capacity but is new in his role as president of basketball operations. And Lynch, who was named the general manager of the 49ers during Super Bowl week, has never served as an executive.

Evans’ co-host Mark Schlereth lauded Elway for cutting his teeth with the Crush, calling him one of the “most competitive grinders on the planet.”

But Schlereth said that with this trend to hire former star athletes to run organizations, there’s a responsibility on the shoulders of these ex-players to not fail so more opportunities will be open in the future.

“I’m glad former players are getting these opportunities. I’m glad. But it is incumbent upon them to be great so more former players get more opportunities,” Schlereth said.

Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @JohnnyHart7.