Wilson in touch with Broncos’ future owners
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. – Russell Wilson was in the midst of dinner at a trendy Platt Park sushi restaurant with his wife, Ciara, when his phone rang.
It was Walmart chairman Greg Penner, likely among the few who could prompt the Denver Broncos quarterback to take a call during date night.
“Oh, this is interesting,” Wilson said he thought. “This must be good news.”
Penner was calling to tell Wilson that him, his wife, Carrie Walton Penner, and his father-in-law, Rob Walton, had won the bidding war to become the Broncos’ new ownership group. So, good news in the sense that Wilson and the rest of the franchise now know – pending approval from the league’s ownership group, which should happen well before the regular season begins – who their new bosses are.
“I got to talk to them for a while, Greg and Carrie, and talked about a lot of stuff, and they got to meet ‘C’ a little bit, and then I talked to Mr. Walton the next morning, too,” Wilson said Monday after the first of three scheduled mandatory minicamp practices.
That it was Penner, 52, who called Wilson may have only been coincidence, though Penner is expected to serve a prominent role in the day-today operation of the franchise once the ownership sale is finalized.
Regardless, it’s hardly surprising that the new ownership group and the new franchise quarterback have already had extensive conversations since the family visited Denver during the sales process last month.
Wilson, whose contract is set to expire after the 2023 season, said it was “an honor” to have regular interactions at this early stage of the proceedings.
“I think in today’s football, that relationship between players and owners is so critical,” Wilson said. “We’re playing for ourselves and our families, but we’re playing for them, too. We’re playing for the whole city. To be able to have that bond and that relationship, you notice it a lot in basketball in particular, in some of the ownership groups and some in football, too. That’s been important.
“Even me and Ciara, owning a soccer team, it’s important to have those bonds, and they’ve done a tremendous job so far of that and that’s exciting.”
The team formally went up for sale on Feb. 1 and the Patrick D. Bowlen Trust selected the Walton-Penner bid on June 7 after a second round of bidding. Wilson was traded from the Seattle Seahawks to Denver on March 8, meaning his short tenure in Denver so far has been during the sale process.
Now, there are only a couple of steps between the team and long-term clarity.
“With change, there comes great opportunity,” Wilson said. “And with Mr. Walton, getting to know him when they came here a couple of months ago or whatever it was, I got to spend some time with them, got to spend time with Greg Penner and with Carrie as well and we definitely had some real good bonding moments, just about life and success and the things and the vision and all the things they want to do and how they want to impact the Broncos.”
The 10-year NFL veteran spoke Monday morning with Mellody Hobson, the Starbucks chairwoman and co-CEO of Chicago-based Ariel Investments and the lone non-Walton/Penner family member who is known to be part of the ownership group.
“To be able to talk to her, what a tremendous accomplishment and what a gift to do what she’s going to be able to do,” said Wilson of Hobson, who is set to join a very small group of Black women, including Venus and Serena Williams (Miami Dolphins), with equity stakes in an NFL franchise.
“This is a big deal, this is history. I think it’s maybe gone over people’s heads a little bit, but it’s news. I think it’s a tremendous representation for minorities and Blacks in particular, but also the growth of the NFL and what they’re trying to do and the Waltons to do that and honor that. It’s pretty awesome.”