Philadelphia 76ers co-Managing Owner Josh Harris holds a news conference to announce that Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame member and Chairman of the Board of Directors for USA Basketball Jerry Colangelo will be joining the Philadelphia 76ers as the Special Advisor to the Managing General Partner and Chairman of Basketball Operations prior to the first half of an NBA basketball game against the San Antonio Spurs, Monday, Dec. 7, 2015, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola) (Chris Szagola)
The quest for a successor to the late Pat Bowlen as Broncos owner is clarified today.
The Broncos’ future ownership competition has been reduced to two finalists, and one of the prospective purchasers is spending Thursday at the team’s headquarters.
According to multiple NFL and Denver sources, The Denver Gazette and The Gazette in Colorado Springs learned exclusively that the pair of front-running candidates to become the Broncos’ owners are Rob Walton, and family and minority partners, and a group headed by Josh Harris.
Harris, advisors and others toured the Broncos’ complex at Dove Valley Thursday and met with retiring CEO Joe Ellis and other top officials of the franchise.
Philadelphia 76ers co-Managing Owner Josh Harris holds a news conference to announce that Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame member and Chairman of the Board of Directors for USA Basketball Jerry Colangelo will be joining the Philadelphia 76ers as the Special Advisor to the Managing General Partner and Chairman of Basketball Operations prior to the first half of an NBA basketball game against the San Antonio Spurs, Monday, Dec. 7, 2015, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola) (Chris Szagola)
Walton and his associates, sources said, are scheduled to visit the Broncos’ complex next week.
A Broncos source denied that there are two finalists. Two other sources “familiar with the Broncos’’ (as one requested) said the belief by other sources that two finalists have been established is wrong, and the three additional candidates beyond Walton and Harris are scheduled to visit Dove Valley over the next two weeks.
The ultimate bid for the Broncos will exceed $4 billon, and as much as $4.5 billion or more at auction, and become the record price paid for a professional sports franchise in the world.
Rob Walton, then chairman of the board, speaks at the annual Walmart shareholders meeting in Fayetteville, Ark., in June 2014. (Associated Press file)
The 77-year-old Walton, a Walmart heir worth approximately $65 billion, was chairman of the company from 1992-2015, and he was succeeded by his son-in-law Greg Penner, who is 52 and would be involved in the Broncos’ ownership along with others. Walton is a cousin, through marriage, of Stan Kroenke, whose family owns the Nuggets, the Avalanche, the Rapids, the Mammoth, the Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams and Arsenal of the English Premier League.
The NFL has demanded the new ownership include minority shareholders who are minorities.
Harris, who is 57, was the co-founder of Apollo Global Management, one of the country’s most successful investment firms. With his personal worth valued at a reported $8 billion, Harris is the principal owner of the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and managing partner of the NHL’s New Jersey Devils (who formerly were the NHL’s Colorado Rockies). Harris has at least two major partners and has been joined by basketball great Earvin “Magic’’ Johnson (a Dodgers’ partner) in the effort to buy the Broncos’ franchise.
Because of the details involved in such a monumental transaction, the owner of the Broncos won’t be officially in place until late summer and perhaps just before the regular season starts.
FILE – In this May 27, 2014, file photo, Magic Johnson watches before a baseball game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Cincinnati Reds in Los Angeles. Magic Johnson says he’s pleased pro athletes are supporting peaceful protests around the nation by using “their platform and their voice” at sports events. The NBA great spoke Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2014, in New York, a day after LeBron James and several other players wore “I Can’t Breathe” shirts before a Cavaliers-Nets game in Brooklyn.(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File) (Jae C. Hong)
Sources said that Walton is the favorite because (A) he can outbid Harris and associates (B) he has such a close connection to Kroenke, (C) he owns a home in Aspen (in addition to his three-home compound in Scottsdale, Ariz., (D) he has a son and family in Boulder (E) and he likely would build a new stadium in Denver to rival Kroenke’s in Los Angeles.
Harris has put together an extremely impressive group who have purchased other sports and entertainment enterprises with him and will include wide-ranging partners.
Separately, both Peyton Manning and John Elway are seriously interested in being included with the winning bidder.
Three other groups have competed in the bidding process.
A huge flag is brought out during the National Anthem before the start the Denver Broncos season opener against the Seattle Seahawks at Broncos Stadium at Mile High on Sunday, September 9, 2018 in Denver. (Photo by Dougal Brownlie, The Gazette) (Dougal Brownlie, The Gazette)Former Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning carries the Vince Lombardi Trophy from Super Bowl 50 onto the field prior to a Sept. 8, 2016, game against the Panthers in Denver. (The Associated Press file)FILE – In this June 5, 2015 file photo, Rob Walton, the retired Chairman of the Board of Directors of Walmart Inc., attends the company shareholder meeting in Fayetteville, Ark. Since 2006, philanthropists and their private foundations and charities have given almost half a billion dollars to charter school groups, according to an Associated Press analysis of tax filings and Foundation Center data, with the Walton Family Foundation being the largest donor.(AP Photo/Danny Johnston, file) (Danny Johnston)Philadelphia 76ers owner Josh Harris speaks with members of the media during a news conference at the NBA basketball team’s practice facility in Camden, N.J., Tuesday, May 14, 2019. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) (Matt Rourke)
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The Broncos cheerleaders enter the field before the start of the Broncos/Los Angeles Chargers game Sunday, Nov. 28, 2021, at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver. (The Gazette, Christian Murdock) (Christian Murdock/The Gazette)The Denver Broncos installed a trophy case in their locker room to display the franchise’s three Lombardi Trophies, including the one from Super Bowl 50 that they won with a 24-10 victory over Carolina on Feb. 7, in Englewood, Colo., Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2016. Players said the gesture is a good reminder of what the next two months are all about. (AP Photo/Arnie Stapleton) (Arnie Stapleton)John Elway hoists the trophy after the Broncos 26-16 win over the Patriots in the AFC Championship game Sunday, January 19, 2014 at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. At right is Broncos owner Pat Bowlen. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette (MARK REIS)Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant, left, and Los Angeles Dodgers part-owner Magic Johnson pause for photos during the team’s joint football practice with the Oakland Raiders on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2014, in Oxnard, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) (Jae C. Hong)The Broncos line up for the National Anthem during the Denver Broncos final season against the Oakland Raiders at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver on Sunday, Dec. 29, 2019. The Broncos defeated the Raiders by a score of 16-15. (Chancey Bush/ The Gazette)Greg Penner, left, board chairman, speaks alongside Jim Walton, Alice Walton and Rob Walton for the presentation of the Sam Walton Award during the Walmart shareholders meeting Friday, June 2, 2017, at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Ark. (Jason Ivester/The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette via AP) (Jason Ivester)
