There will be some bad golf but it’s all for a good cause.

The Denver Broncos Alumni Charities will hold its 18th annual Gala & Golf event at the Omni Interlocken Hotel and Golf Club in Broomfield on Sunday and Monday. The event will benefit the Denver Street School and the Colorado Spillionairs, a youth football program for the underserved.

The event last year raised about $150,000 for those organizations, and a similar amount is expected this year. Scheduled to be on hand are 62 former Broncos players for the gala on Sunday night and the golf scramble Monday, when 49 of those ex-players will each tee off in a fivesome along with players on hand with corporate sponsorships.

“We have a lot of bad golfers for sure,’’ former Broncos tight end Ron Egloff, co-chair of the event along with former defensive back Mike Harden, said with a laugh about the ex-Denver players. “But it’s all for the cause, and it’s the camaraderie of being out there with former teammates and having fun while doing it.”

Notable former players scheduled to attend include Pro Football Hall of Fame and Ring of Fame safety Steve Atwater and Ring of Fame linebacker Karl Mecklenburg, receivers Rod Smith and Rick Upchurch, safety Dennis Smith and defensive back Steve Foley. Upchurch will fly in from his home in Las Vegas and Dennis Smith from his home in the Los Angeles area.

There are said to be some good golfers among the former players. Among them are Foley, wide receiver-punter Billy Van Heusen, linebacker Tim Lucas and defensive end Ebenezer Ekuban.

“Ebenezer hits it almost 400 yards,’’ Egloff said. “He just kills it. He by far hits the ball farther than anybody.”

While Ekuban has provided highlights over the years, there indeed have been lowlights.

“It’s always fun to see guys corkscrew themselves into the ground and fall over,’’ Egloff said. “I’ve seen (receiver) Mark Jackson, (safety) Tyrone Braxton and (running back) Tatum Bell do that. It’s always funny to see them swing as hard as they can and spin around three times and they hit the ground.”

Jackson and Braxton are scheduled to take part again while Bell, who lives in Texas, won’t.

Former cornerback Le-Lo Lang, president of the Broncos Alumni Association, will be on hand although he won’t play golf this year. Lang, who played last year and has teed it up at most of the events, said that is a good thing.

“I’m terrible,’’ Lang said. “One year about 10 years ago, I was playing and there were some geese over in the pond. I’m at the tee box and I hit the ball, and I hit one in the head. Thank goodness I didn’t kill him.”

During the golf tournament, Lang will serve as an ambassador, which will include driving around in a cart with ex-cornerback Frank Robinson. Egloff said they will “make sure the beer is cold, and people are having plenty of fun.”

Ent Credit Union is the title sponsor for the event and Coca-Cola the presenting sponsor. There were 49 corporate sponsorships sold for between $3,000 and $5,000 apiece, resulting in the 49 fivesomes teeing off Monday.

Sunday’s gala will be emceed by Susie Wargin, a popular local media figure who is the Broncos’ radio sideline reporter. The gala will feature an auction, and among the items available will be autographed Broncos jerseys, trips and a wine package.

“It’s a huge testament to how many (former players) will participate and are involved in our community and will help raise money,’’ said former kicker Rich Karlis, who long has been a participant. “The guys always enjoy the chance to be together and relive our funny stories from our past and our playing day stories.”

If any more shots hit a goose, that will provide another story.

Antonio set for playoffs

With a goal of landing an invitation to an NFL training camp, former University of Colorado receiver Javon Antonio will have one or two more nationally televised games to show off his stuff.

Antonio plays for the D.C. Defenders, who will play at the St. Louis Battlehawks in the United Football League playoffs next Sunday on Fox. A win by the Defenders and they would play in the UFL Championship Game on June 14 in St. Louis on ABC and ESPN.

“It’s a big league,’’ Antonio said of playing in the spring UFL. “I don’t knock it at all. We’ve got a good group of guys. We’ve got two guys who have won Super Bowls in (receiver) Cornell Powell (for Kansas City in the 2022 season) and (receiver) Jaydon Mickens (for Tampa Bay in 2020) and they help guide me.”

During the regular season, Antonio was a reserve who caught 18 passes for 212 yards while playing in nine of the Defenders’ 10 games. That came after he caught 17 passes for 209 yards in 10 games for the Buffaloes in 2023 after transferring from Northwestern State in Louisiana.

“I made a ton of plays in camp, and then I got hurt,’’ Antonio said of his Colorado tenure. “I had an AC sprain in my right shoulder before the first game of the season, and I played through it.”

Had he not suffered the injury, which sidelined him for two games and hampered him for the rest of the season, Antonio believes he would have had better stats with the Buffaloes and helped his NFL chances. While still not fully back from the injury, he did get a tryout in May 2024 at the New Orleans Saints rookie minicamp but wasn’t offered a contract.

Now, Antonio wants another shot. He can help himself in the UFL playoffs.

“Size,’’ the 6-foot-2, 217-pound Antonio said of what he could bring to the NFL. “I can play special teams. I’ll do whatever it takes to make a 53(-man roster).”

What I’m hearing

–Former Broncos defensive back Kayvon Webster said it was “emotional” hearing wide receiver Demaryius Thomas, who died in 2021, had been elected to the Broncos Ring of Fame, with the induction to be at an Oct. 19 game against the New York Giants at Empower Field at Mile High.

“He always made any room brighter when he walked in,’’ said Webster, Thomas’ teammate from 2013-16. “It’s definitely well-deserved because he wasn’t just only an elite athlete, he was the kind of player who brought grace and humility and power to the game. And watching him play was inspiring. And practicing against him was inspiring. He actually made me better and others better around us. … His legacy lives beyond the stats and he earned this and then some.”

–Few current NFL players are more active in the media than Cleveland Browns defensive tackle Shelby Harris, who played for the Broncos from 2017-21. Harris, who continues to make his offseason home in the Denver area, does regular online shows for Guerilla Sports and is on KOA radio Tuesdays and Thursdays with Dave Logan and Ryan Edwards.

“That’s the goal,’’ Harris, 33, said of going into media full time after he retires. “You don’t want to get caught without any plan. So that’s my goal is to make a plan for when I’m done playing.”

What I’m seeing

–Talanoa Hufanga knows all about Denver’s safety tradition. The Broncos have had three players at the position make the Hall of Fame in Atwater, Brian Dawkins and John Lynch. Hufanga, a first-team All-Pro safety in 2022, signed with Denver last March after four years with San Francisco. He recently met Atwater, the Broncos’ fan engagement manager, has known Dawkins and had Lynch as his general manager with the 49ers.

“When I signed here, (Lynch) was the first person to call me and congratulated me,’’ Hufanga said. “He said how excited he was because he played here as well. There is a long line of history here. My goal is to represent them the right way.”

–Don’t be surprised if the Broncos have six wide receivers in 2025 on the 53-man roster in Courtland Sutton, Marvin Mims Jr., Devaughn Vele, Troy Franklin, Trent Sherfield and rookie Pat Bryant. While Sherfield might not be in line for much work from scrimmage, he was signed last March for his prowess on special teams. Having gotten a two-year, $6 million deal with $3.05 million guaranteed, he is all but assured of sticking around.