Legendary Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino could have become a Pittsburgh Steelers player in the NFL after graduating from his hometown’s University of Pittsburgh in 1982. Instead, he spent his entire NFL career in Miami after The Steelers passed on him in the 1983 NFL draft, which Marino, who started 240 of his 242 career games, clearly won’t forget.

Pittsburgh had the 21st first-round pick that day, and Marino was still available. Instead of choosing the quarterback, despite having its regular starter, 35-year-old Terry Bradshaw, entering his 14th NFL season and fresh from preseason elbow surgery, The Steelers chose Gabriel Rivera, a defensive tackle out of Texas Tech, to shore up its defense, instead. 

The rest is history. The Dolphins selected Marino as the 27th and final first-round pick that day, which, considering his four seasons playing for the Pittsburgh Panthers had yielded 8,597 passing yards, 79 touchdowns, and 69 interceptions, it was like he fell into the Miami franchise’s lap. 

After a career spanning 17 seasons, all spent with the Dolphins, Dan Marino is legendary in Miami circles. A special adviser to the franchise since 2014, the NFL great’s views on present-day rosters and matchups are keenly sought after in the press, especially by sports betters looking to gain additional insights. 

With Florida being one of 31 US states offering legal online sports betting (we’re still waiting on online casinos being given the green light in the state), Marino’s local knowledge is extremely valuable. California and Texas are among other states hoping to legalize this form of gambling before the new NFL season starts, meaning the views of experts like Marino could find inclusion in Texas and California Sports Betting Apps soon.

In the meantime, bettors eagerly await the opening odds for the new NFL campaign while enjoying interviews that many current and past NFL stars give to the media. One such interview saw Dan Marino speaking to CBS Sports, where the most successful quarterback never to win a Super Bowl in NFL history revisited the Dolphins’ 1984 AFC Championship game against The Steelers, where he got one over on the team that passed up on him in the draft.

“Well, that’s a pretty cool one because we were playing Pittsburgh, and I grew up there. It was pretty special to play them. Donnie Shell was still playing, who is a Hall of Famer. Jack Lambert’s a Hall of Famer. They were in that game.

As a kid, I grew up watching them. To be able to beat them in the Orange Bowl and then go on to the Super Bowl was, for me as a 22-year-old kid, it was really cool.”

Marino’s words underplay his performance against his boyhood idols that day. He threw four touchdown passes and ended the game with 421 yards through the air as The Dolphins cruised to a 45-28 AFC Championship win. The 73 points scored in the game remain a record high in NFL AFC Championship game history.

Before the playoffs started that season, Dan Marino had set several then-NFL single regular season records, with 5,084 passing yards and 48 touchdown passes. With nine 300-yard passing games and four 400-yard passing games, he easily won the 1984 season’s NFL MVP award. His 48 touchdown passes that season have only been eclipsed by two players, NFL greats Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, since.

Despite Marino’s efforts in the emphatic AFC Championship win, the Miami Dolphins fall at the final hurdle. The San Francisco 49ers convincingly beat Don Shula’s team by 38-16, The Dolphins’ second Super Bowl loss in three seasons.

While Marino couldn’t help The Dolphins to a Super Bowl triumph during his career, a feat the Miami franchise last achieved in 1973, the 62-year-old is still one of the greatest quarterbacks ever to play in the NFL. His NFL honor roll compiled over his career is extensive, only missing a coveted Super Bowl ring. 

From 1984-1986, Marino made the NFL All-Pro team, making the Pro Bowl game nine times in his career.  He finished as the NFL passing yards leader five times while also being the passing touchdowns leader in three. Marino still holds the record for the most NFL seasons as the league leader in pass attempts (5), while he dominates the NFL sack percentage stats.

In a record ten seasons, Marino had the lowest NFL sack percentage, with seven coming consecutively, another record. His 1.0% sack percentage in 1988 is still the lowest in NFL history, as is his 3.0% career cack percentage. Marino is regarded as Mr. Monday Night Football” for his long-standing existing records in four passing categories.

In 2000, immediately after his retirement, the Miami Dolphins included its talismanic stalwart on its Honor Roll, with Marino’s number 13 jersey retired the same year. As soon as he became eligible in 2005, Dan Marino was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame before, in 2019, gaining selection to the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team as one of the ten greatest quarterbacks in league history.

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ failure to choose Marino in the 1983 NFL draft was undoubtedly the Miami Dolphins’ gain, going much further than that single 1984 AFC Championship game. Dan Marino won’t let the Pittsburgh franchise or fans forget the oversight either. As he said during the CBS Sports interview, after hearing of a long-time Steelers fan still upset by the draft decision, “Tell him not to let it go.”