Bowlens’ spat threatens NFL plan for Ellis
Couldn’t the family wait until Pat Bowlen dies before slinging mud over which of his seven children should take control of the Broncos?
The answer is sad, awkward and painful. It’s hard to keep a family argument behind closed doors when big money pumps up the volume. So it’s even harder to accept Mr. B is in the throes of Alzheimer’s disease because the bickering began in earnest Thursday over future operation of his beloved NFL franchise, valued at $2.4 billion.
CEO Joe Ellis has had full authority to make final decisions for the team since illness forced Bowlen to retire in 2014. Despite the Broncos’ recent on-field woes, the NFL gave a strong thumbs-up to the arrangement in 2017, granting a five-year extension to Ellis as controlling owner delegee.
Beth Bowlen Wallace, however, thinks it’s time the family wrests control of the Broncos back from Ellis. She is tired of standing on the sideline as Ellis and his fellow trustees take their sweet time to decide if any of the Bowlen children are worthy of running the franchise on a dayto-day basis.
“I’m ready right now,” Bowlen Wallace told The Denver Post. “I am also willing to move forward with a short transition and mentoring period with current Broncos leadership. But the time is right to move beyond the trustee arrangement.”
On a sunny spring morning, as new quarterback Case Keenum built chemistry with teammates at practice and president of football operations John Elway was off playing golf at the Colorado Senior Open, the 47-year-old daughter of the revered franchise owner dropped a bombshell that revealed cracks in the succession plan. Bowlen Wallace made public her long-simmering displeasure with the Broncos’
current power structure in a story published by The Athletic.
“My father’s legacy is very important to me and my family,” the second-eldest Bowlen child said. “It is my desire to lead this team with the same passion my father did and help the Broncos become Super Bowl champions again. I have the ambition, experience and drive, and my mentor in running a winning NFL franchise is the best in the business: my father.”
The Broncos shot back: Not so fast, kiddo. Beth “is not capable or qualified at this time” to be the owner, the team trust said in an aggressively worded statement, adding other Bowlen children have expressed aspirations for Mr. B’s chair.
This is how ugly feuds begin. Start with a family heirloom worth $2.4 billion. Add the natural tension of a seven children from two Bowlen marriages loosely melded by football.
Bill and John Bowlen, brothers to the only owner the Broncos have known for 35 years, wasted no time throwing support behind their niece, who graduated with a law degree from the University of Denver in 2016. But make no mistake. Ellis, whose leadership is firmly backed by 31 NFL owners and commissioner Roger Goodell, holds the cards here.
And here’s my read: While there’s no disputing the intelligence or maturity of Beth Bowlen Wallace, the game is not going her way. This attempt at a public showdown for control of the franchise, while heartfelt, also feels like a Hail Mary pass.
Only a fool rushes in anywhere near a family dispute, but here I go. While Ellis, as well as fellow trustees Rich Slivka and Mary Kelly, have made it clear there is no timetable to name a successor and have never indicated a preference for any potential candidate, the prohibitive favorite seems to be Brittany Alexandra Bowlen, one of Mr. B’s five children from his second marriage.
She has worked in the NFL’s apprenticeship program in New York, was integral in developing an intriguing proposal for Denver to host the 2019 draft and last month completed her MBA at Duke University.
But still nearly two years shy of her 30th birthday, the brightest young star in the Bowlen family would probably be wise to get more seasoning. Would it be fair to Brittany Bowlen to battle the stereotypical but inevitable criticism of being born with a silver spoon, while also fighting outdated perceptions in the male-dominated world of pro football at such a young age?
All she needs is time. But, as has become abundantly clear, some members of the Bowlen family have lost patience with the slow play to find the ideal replacement for Mr. B.
It’s another reason there’s pressure on Denver to rebound from its 5-11 record in 2017.
Should the team finish in last-place again, the questions and concerns about fissures in the Bowlen family business will only grow louder in Broncos Country.