Jim Kelly

The Buffalo Bills selected quarterback Jim Kelly in the first round of the 1983 NFL Draft. A collegiate standout at the University of Miami, Kelly, however, opted to sign with the Houston Gamblers of the United States Football League. In 1984, he was named the USFL’s Most Valuable Player after setting league records with 5,219 passing yards and 44 touchdown passes. 

In two seasons with the Gamblers, Kelly threw for 9,842 yards and 83 touchdowns.

The USFL folded following the 1985 season, and Kelly, just prior to the start of the 1986 NFL season, signed with the Bills.

A strong-armed passer with a “linebacker’s mentality,” Kelly lived up to his advance billing, rewriting the Bills’ record book at the quarterback position.

During the 1990s, Kelly and teammates Thurman Thomas and Andre Reed powered one of the NFL’s most potent attacks. Kelly’s accelerated information-processing skills and quick decision-making were a perfect fit for Buffalo’s no-huddle “K-Gun” scheme.

He led the NFL in passer rating in 1990 (101.2) and the AFC in 1991 (97.6), while leading the Bills to consecutive Super Bowl appearances. Those seasons marked the beginning of a four-year run in which Buffalo won the AFC Championship -- the only NFL team to win four consecutive conference crowns.

During that stretch, Kelly posted a 14-0 regular-season record against NFC opponents, including a 34-31 victory over Steve Young and the San Francisco 49ers on Sept. 13, 1992, in which he passed for a career-high 403 yards.

In only 11 NFL seasons, Kelly retired among the league’s top 10 in career pass completions (2,874), passing yards (35,467) and touchdown passes (237). At the end of his final season, 1996, his 84.4 passer rating ranked fifth in NFL history.

Kelly’s leadership, toughness and command of Buffalo’s high-powered offense helped establish him as one of the defining quarterbacks of his era and one of its most impactful players.