Broncos new ownership one step closer to becoming official
This week marks another milestone in the ongoing sale of the Denver Broncos. On Wednesday, the NFL's Finance Committee met, and unanimously approved Rob Walton's proposed $4.65 billion purchase of the franchise, an NFL spokesperson confirmed to CBS4.
The announcement comes a month and a half after the team entered a sale agreement with the Walton-Penner family ownership group, which is led by Walmart heir Rob Walton, his daughter, Carrie Walton Penner, and her husband, Greg Penner. Melody Hobson, co-CEO of Ariel Investments and board chair of Starbucks Corporation will also be part of the group, as well as former United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
The reported $4.65 billion sale would be the largest in NFL and North American professional sports history. The previous NFL record was set in 2018 when David Tepper purchased the Carolina Panthers in for more than $2.2 billion.
"We appreciate the diligence and hard work of the National Football League's Finance Committee with its recommendation to approve our purchase of the Denver Broncos. Today's vote marks an important milestone, and we are excited for the next step involving all of the league's owners," Walton said in a statement Wednesday.
Approval by the Finance Committee is among the final things needed before the sale of the team can be official. Next, the committee will make a report for all 32 teams to review at an upcoming special league meeting on August 9 in Minnesota.
At that meeting, the sale of the franchise will go up to a final vote, in which 24 of 32 owners will need to approve the sale. A source tells CBS4 the Walton-Penner Group will easily get the votes to be approved.
Walton is the oldest son of the late Walmart founder Sam Walton. He took over as chairman of the company upon his father's death in 1992 and retired from the role in 2015. His net worth is estimated near $60 billion, making him the league's richest owner once approved.
The upcoming sale will be the start of a new chapter for the franchise, which has been owned by the Bowlen family since Pat Bowlen purchased it from Edgar Kaiser in 1984. After Bowlen died in 2019, the Pat Bowlen Trust has run the organization.