John Elway’s business partner dies from golf cart fall

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Jeff Sperbeck, a longtime friend and business partner of Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway, died Wednesday morning from injuries he sustained in a golf cart accident over the weekend. He was 62.

The Riverside County (Calif.) coroner confirmed Sperbeck’s death in a news release from the sheriff’s office. Sperbeck had been on life support after the incident Saturday in La Quinta, Calif.

Elway was driving the golf cart when Sperbeck, his former agent, fell out and sustained a life-threatening head injury, TMZ reported Wednesday. TMZ reported there’s no indication that Elway was driving negligently when Sperbeck fell off and struck his head on asphalt. TMZ reported Sperbeck was riding on the back of the golf cart while ESPN reported he was in the passenger seat.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection told KESQ it responded to an accident involving a golf cart and transported an unnamed patient to Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs. The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office said it is investigating the incident. Elway made the 9-1-1 call, according to TMZ.

Elway, Sperbeck, their wives and Elway’s son were returning from a party after attending the Stagecoach music festival earlier Saturday in nearby Indio, Calif., according to TMZ.

Elway, 64, and Sperbeck founded 7Cellars winery together in 2013.

Sperbeck, certified by the NFL, represented more than 100 NFL players as an agent and business adviser over a 30-year career, according to his bio on the winery’s website.

Elway played for the Broncos from 1983-98, winning Super Bowl championships in each of his final two seasons. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2004. He returned to the team as an executive in 2011, working as the general manager through 2020 and as president of football operations in 2021.

–Field Level Media