John Bowlen, Pat’s brother, looking to sell his share of Broncos

Full ownership of the Broncos may not remain in the Bowlen family much longer.

John Bowlen, the younger brother of Broncos majority owner Pat Bowlen, is looking to sell his minority interest in the team, which, according to a source, is roughly 30 to 35 percent.

“While a difficult decision, I have decided to sell my minority interest in the Broncos,” John Bowlen posted Sunday night in a statement on Twitter, corroborating a report by The Denver Post earlier in the day. “My Brother Pat’s leadership has been greatly missed.”

The Broncos remain among the NFL’s most successful franchises with

a valuation of $2.4 billion, according to Forbes magazine’s latest estimate, a massive leap from the $78 million the Bowlens paid former owner Edgar Kaiser in 1984.

Because Pat was unable to cover the full purchase price, his siblings, including John, helped foot the bill and, over the years, they have been selling interest back to Pat. In 1996, Pat’s brother William Bowlen sold his interest, and in 1997 his sister Mary Elizabeth Jagger did the same. When their mother, Arvella Regis Bowlen, died in 2006, her interests were split among Pat and John, making them sole owners of the team.

John Bowlen has also been selling his interest back to the family, but now, the source said, “it is time for a new owner.”

Pat Bowlen stepped down from his day-to-day duties as owner in 2014 because of the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. The team was placed in a family trust to serve as a vehicle to transfer controlling ownership to one of Pat Bowlen’s seven children, appointed by the trust’s three trustees, Broncos president and CEO Joe Ellis, team counsel Rich Slivka and local attorney Mary Kelly.

John Bowlen doesn’t have a vote in the daily operation of the team and a sale of his interest wouldn’t affect the broader transition for Pat’s majority interest; his children will receive equal stake, and one is still in line to be elected controlling owner.

“As it relates to Pat Bowlen’s controlling interest of the team, it is not for sale,” Ellis told The Post on Sunday.

The Broncos later issued a statement claiming that John Bowlen isn’t actively seeking to sell his interest but did acknowledge that he “recently was approached by someone who expressed interest in his share of the team.”

In an extensive interview in Sep- tember, Ellis said the team hasn’t been given a timetable by the NFL to select its next controlling owner, but commissioner Roger Goodell has made it clear on numerous occassions that the NFL prefers a single owner to represent and be the sole voice of each team.

While Pat is the Broncos’ owner in name, the operations, decisions and statements made on behalf of the franchise are in the hands of the trustees.

“We work on the basis of 32 individual owners each having a vote and when league matters come up, whatever they may be, we work on a vote of 24 of the 32,” Goodell said before Super Bowl 50. “It’s a very important principle to owners and their partners. They want to know who their partner is. They want to know that they’re responsible for how the team is operated locally and they want to know that their partner is sitting at the table when they’re making difficult decisions.”

Goodell, who was a panelist at a fan forum at Broncos headquarters in August, said the team is “very well-run” and in compliance with the league’s ownership policies.

“(Pat Bowlen) understood that he wanted the Broncos to have the best possible transition and he’s established a system in Joe Ellis and the trust, who I think has done a terrific job to keep people like John Elway and others that are going to ensure that this team is still represented in this community the way Pat wanted it represented,” Goodell said. “They still work on winning and winning with class, and I think the ownership has done an excellent job, including Joe and others, of really being active in league matters.

“Our membership is very happy with that and it’s consistent with the way Pat wanted it done. Pat outlined exactly the way it’s operating. From our standpoint, no. But we want to make sure that the team is always in compliance.”