John Elway Formally Cleared in Friend’s Death in Golf Cart Accident

Jeff Sperbeck, 62, died April 30.

John Elway speaks during the 2020 NFL draft combine. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway will not face charges related to an April golf cart accident that killed his friend and agent Jeff Sperbeck, a California sheriff told Mike Klis of KUSA-TV in Denver Friday.

“It’s over,’’ Riverside County, Calif., sheriff Chad Bianco said. “We’ve talked to everyone involved and we found nothing new. There was nothing criminal, it was what we’ve been saying all along that this was a tragic accident.”

Sperbeck, 62, was riding in a golf cart Elway was driving on April 26 when he fell off the back and suffered a serious head injury. Placed on life support, he died four days later.

A longtime friend of Elway's, Sperbeck represented the quarterback during his playing days—as well as dozens of other NFL players.

“I’ve looked at video 100 times and there’s no explanation as to why he fell off, he just fell off,’’ Bianco said; per Klis, a coroner made a similar finding, ruling Sperbeck died of "blunt force trama" from "an accident."

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