Broncos sale to Walton group unanimously OKed by NFL owners

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (AP) — The record $4.65 billion sale of the Denver Broncos to Walmart heir Rob Walton and his daughter and sonin-law was unanimously approved Tuesday by NFL owners, the expected final step in the transfer from the family of the late Pat Bowlen.

The vote was taken at a league meeting at a hotel in Minnesota, where Walton, his daughter, Carrie Walton Penner, and her husband, Greg Penner, were introduced by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. With an estimated worth of $60 billion, the 77-year-old Walton — the eldest son of Walmart founder Sam Walton — becomes the wealthiest owner in the league. Rob Walton served as chairman of the retail giant from 1992-2015.

“I’m appreciative to see such a good group coming to own the Broncos. I think it speaks to the direction that the organization is going in,” right tackle Calvin Anderson said after practice in Englewood, Colorado. “Just like the Avs winning the Stanley Cup, it’s a challenge to us to rise to the occasion."

The Walton-Penner group paid the highest price in history for a sports franchise anywhere in the world.

The Pat Bowlen Trust ran the franchise after Bowlen stepped back from day-to-day duties in 2014 because of Alzheimer’s disease. He died in 2019, one month before his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Penner said informal discussions with Bowlen regarding a sale took place as far back as about 10 years ago, right before his health began to decline.

Bowlen wanted one of his children to take over the team and Brittany Bowlen, now 32, was the trustees' selected successor. Not all of her siblings supported that choice, so the club was put up for sale. Brittany Bowlen stepped down as the team’s vice president of strategy after the WaltonPenner group was awarded the franchise with their winning bid.

Only one other NFL club has been sold in the past 10 years: the Carolina Panthers from Jerry Richardson to David Tepper for what was then a record $2.2 billion.

The Broncos are now the first team since the 2008 Miami Dolphins to change primary owners, head coaches and starting quarterbacks in one offseason.

"When it comes to the ownership, I am so excited to get to know them, to meet them, and move forward. I know there has been an amazing history here, and you can learn a lot from history — the good, the bad, and everything,” new coach Nathaniel Hackett said.