If NFL free agency were a chess tournament, John Elway would win every year—or at least face off with Bill Belichick and a few others in the late rounds every year. He's one of the NFL's great chess masters.
But NFL free agency is not chess. Garry Kasparov never had to cope with pawns that signed with Anatoly Karpov for more money. It's more like high-stakes poker, with a little highway chicken thrown in and a dash of Hungry Hungry Hippos. It's a complicated game.
Elway is usually great at that game, too.