Broncos sale to Walton group unanimously OKed by NFL owners

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — The record $4.65 billion sale of the Denver Broncos to Walmart heir Rob Walton and his daughter and son-in-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 three limited partners are Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton, Starbucks board chair Mellody Hobson and former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

All three investors are Black, satisfying a goal to bring more racial diversity into ownership groups, front offices and coaching staffs. With more than onethird of the ownership share belonging to either women or minorities, the Broncos will have by far the most diverse group in the NFL.