Denver Broncos general manager John Elway has not agreed to a contract extension with the franchise and the Los Angeles Rams are interested.

Stan Kroenke has & is keeping an eye on the lack of an extension between the #Broncos & John Elway, Elway wants a piece of ownership. — Benjamin Allbright (@AllbrightNFL) July 14, 2017

The two have an established connection. Kroenke, who has ownership stakes in nearly every major sports team in Denver besides the Broncos, worked with Elway over a decade ago (via Los Angeles Times):

Many of the guiding principles that Elway leans on are the ones he learned while building the Colorado Crush, the Arena Football League team he co-owned with Broncos owner Pat Bowlen and Rams owner Stan Kroenke. The club was founded in 2002 with Elway as president.

Elway has previously denied interest in leaving Denver, calling the city his home.

However, this is not the first time Elway and the Rams have been linked. This offseason, former Broncos defensive coordinator Wade Phillips left Denver and signed on to the same role with Los Angeles.

John Elway said Denver is his home and he's not going anywhere. — Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) May 25, 2017

Albright previously said current Rams general manager Les Snead is a “placeholder” and called his status with the team “shaky” at best.

Elway, meanwhile, is looking for ownership stakes. He has raised his value in Denver due to the success he has had in the front office.

Mike Florio of NBC Sports wonders whether or not a flirtation with the Rams could just be for leverage with the Broncos (via Pro Football Talk):

“Maybe to get the best deal from Denver, you need to get Stan Kroenke offering something, anything, along the lines of attracting to Los Angeles. Once you start down that path, maybe it all does fall apart. Maybe an offer is put on the table that Elway can’t refuse … And I can’t imagine him leaving, I really can’t, but until it’s done, it’s not done.”

He continues to speculate that the longer it takes for an agreement with Denver, the more likely it becomes for another team (like the Rams) to realize it’s not just for leverage.

Perhaps at this point, Elway could seriously decide to just leave the franchise he played for from 1983 until 1998.