The battle over the ownership stake of the Denver Broncos looks to be coming to an end.
Walmart heir, Rob Walton has reportedly won the bidding for the NFL team with a record $4.65 billion sale. It is the most ever spent on a professional sports organization in North America.
According to reports, the deal is expected to go off without any issues from fellow owners around the NFL.
The Walton-Penner group was originally one of the four groups to advance to the second round of bidding. The ownership group consists of Walton, his daughter, Carrie Walton Penner; and her husband, Greg Penner.
It has been reported that Penner will run most of the day-to-day work with the team.
The Walter-Penner group is expected to take over after a tumultuous eight year legal battle between the Bowlen’s.
Ownership history of the Denver Broncos
Pat Bowlen originally bought the team in 1984 for $78 million. Bowlen then bought out the rest of his families shares of the club.
During Pat Bowlen’s tenure, the Broncos had been one of the best franchises in the NFL, winning three Super Bowls, getting to the big game seven times, and having less losing seasons than Super Bowl appearances.
However, after stepping away from the day-to-day operations due to an onset of Alzheimer’s disease, Bowlen did not leave a true successor to the position. Many legal battles, public attacks and finally the sale of the Broncos was argued by Bowlen’s children and brother.
This is not the first sports sale for the Walton-Penner family either in the Colorado area.
In fact, the Denver Broncos addition means that Walton and Stan Kroenke now own five of the six major professional sports franchises in Colorado. Kroenke and Walton are cousins by marriage.
“We are thrilled to be selected to move forward with the purchase of the Denver Broncos!” Walton said in a statement. “Carrie, Greg and I are inspired by the opportunity to steward this great organization in a vibrant community full of opportunity and passionate fans. Having lived and worked in Colorado, we’ve always admired the Broncos. Our enthusiasm has only grown as we’ve learned more about the team, staff and Broncos Country over the last few months.”
The $4.65 billion sale of the Denver Broncos blows through David Tepper’s purchase of the Carolina Panthers in 2018 for $2.3 billion. The previous record was for $2.475 billion in 2020 by Steven Cohen to purchase the New York Mets.
The Walton-Penner group takes over in Denver after a busy offseason for the Broncos. The team hired former Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, and then traded for Seahawks franchise quarterback, Russell Wilson.
The new ownership group will look to finally turn the page on a difficult last few years for Broncos fans both on and off the field. The team hasn’t made the playoffs since their Super Bowl win in 2015.
