The Denver Broncos have started a new era after hiring head coach Nathaniel Hackett to team up with newish general manager George Paton.
Off the field, this NFL franchise could very well be starting its own new era.
As has been speculated over the past several months, Denver announced on Tuesday that it is beginning the process of selling the team.
“The Pat Bowlen Trust announced today the beginning of a sale process for 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,” Denver Broncos president and CEO Joe Ellis said in a statement, via the team’s official website. “Selling an NFL team is a complex process involving numerous parties and league approval procedures. Nonetheless, the trustees hope to have the sale completed by the start of the 2022 NFL season.”
This comes on the heels of a judge overseeing a case pitting Denver’s current ownership trust against an entity claiming the right of first refusal over the sale of the organization ruled in favor of the Broncos.
Long story short (and without getting into legal mumbo-jumbo), this ends any restrictions the Broncos’ current powers that be had as it relates to a potential sale. Current ownership is under a trust of former owner Pat Bowlen, who passed away back in 2019. Ellis himself is a trustee.
“With today beginning the Broncos’ transition to new ownership, our family is overwhelmed with gratitude for what this organization and community have meant to us. There are truly no words to express our deep appreciation to all of Broncos Country for its unwavering support during the past four decades,” the Bowlen trust said in a statement.
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Denver Broncos to fetch record price in sale
Forbes estimates that the Broncos are valued at a cool $3.75 billion. Various indications are that any asking price will start at $4 billion. That would be a record within the four major North American professional sports leagues.
David Tepper purchased the Carolina Panthers for an NFL-record $2.2 billion back in 2018. One year earlier, Joseph Tsai bought the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets for what was a then-record $2.3 billion.
Big names have been linked to buying the Denver Broncos, including Amazon’s Jeff Bezos. He’s said to be worth a cool $177 billion — making any purchase of the Broncos chump change for the mogul.
More recently, Robert F. Smith has been linked to the Broncos. He’s a Denver-area native and is among the richest people in the United States. With a net worth of $6.7 billion, he could take over a majority stake of the organization.
Obviously, former NFL star quarterback Peyton Manning has been bandied about as being part of a group to buy the team.
Either way, expect something to come to fruition on this end before the start of the 2022 NFL season.