ENGLEWOOD (Colo.) – The Denver BroncosThey are now available for purchase in the most expensive sale in North American sports history.
Pat Bowlen Trust announced the sale Tuesday. The trust has been running the team since Bowlen’s 2014 retirement from the day-to-day operations in response to the early onset Alzheimer’s Disease. The team’s value is just below $4 billion.
Joseph Tsai paid $2.35B for the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets. This is the highest-paid North American sports franchise.
The NFL’s last sold franchise was the Carolina PanthersDavid Tepper bought the rights to the, which were sold by him in 2018 at $2.275billion.
Broncos CEO Joe Ellis released the following statement: “The Pat Bowlen Trust today announced the start of a sale process to the Denver Broncos. We have retained Steve Greenberg of Allen & Company as our financial advisor and Joe Leccese of Proskauer Rose LLP as our legal advisor for this transition of ownership.
“Selling an NFL Team is a complicated process that involves many parties and league approval processes. The trustees still hope to complete the sale by the 2022 NFL season.
“The Broncos have a special franchise and are part of the fabric in this region. Whoever emerges as the next owner will understand the importance of the team to our fans and this community.”
The Bowlen family released a long statement saying that Pat Bowlen set out to achieve the goal of becoming No. 1. In everything. His vision has enabled the Broncos become champions on and off-the field over the past 38 seasons. Today marks the beginning of the transition to new ownership for the Broncos. Our family is overwhelmed by gratitude for all that this community and organization have done for us. Broncos Country has been a great supporter over the past 40 years. We have no words to thank them.
When a Denver judge ruled that Edgar Kaiser Jr.’s heirs could buy any part of the franchise, the sale was almost certain.
A holdings group representing Kaiser’s estate had petitioned court to deny any sale of the franchise. It had done so since 1984, when Kaiser sold the team. Bowlen was killed in 2019 and Kaiser died in 2012.
Shelley L. Gilman, a Denver District judge, ruled that Kaiser’s heirs did not have any claim and that the right to first refusal contained in the 1984 sales agreement between Kaiser & Bowlen was “no more valid or enforceable in anyway.”
Ellis, one of three trustees responsible for the operations of Bowlen’s team, repeatedly stated over the past seven years that if Bowlen’s kids couldn’t agree on a majority owners, the team would most likely be sold. The siblings never came to an agreement — they were set to file a lawsuit against each other before it was dropped last July.
The Bowlen family released a statement saying that Pat used to say that the Broncos belonged the fans, and that ultimately this team was theirs. We are grateful from the bottom of our hearts for this amazing ride. It was an honor that we will never forget. We all know the lasting impact of Mr. B’ will always be remembered by the Broncos as well as the fans. We will cheer for the Orange-Blue. Go Broncos!
There are believed be many groups that have already been formed and are willing to bid on the team. Peyton Manning, a Hall of Fame quarterback, and John Elway, a Hall of Fame quarterback, have both expressed an interest in possibly being part of any bidders on the team.
Manning stated earlier in the season that he would listen to any suggestions about joining an ownership group but it had to be the right fit.
The League rules require that a majority owner of a franchise must own at least 30%. For example, if a sale is $4 billion, the majority investor would need to hold $1.2 billion.
George Paton, the general manager, was hired in January 2020. Nathaniel Hackett is the newly-hired coach. They both stated that the ownership issue did not affect their decision to accept the positions. Each claimed that the Broncos have shown the ability to compete for championships with three Super Bowl wins and eight Super Bowl appearances.
Hackett, who was named the new team’s head coach, said that he thought it was something they had discussed. “This is amazing, in the end it’s going to work out and every day regardless of who is the owner, I have to prove my self.”