How much did Walmart heir Rob Walton pay to acquire the Broncos?

The Denver Broncos are officially under new ownership. League commissioner Roger Goodell and team owners unanimously approved the sale. The group of investors are led by former Walmart chairman Rob Walton, his daughter Carrie Walton-Penner, and son-in-law Greg Penner.

The sale of the franchise was approved for a record price of $4.65 billion, bringing an end to the franchise era under Pat Bowlen. Bowlen acquired the Broncos in 1984 and oversaw three Super Bowl title wins under his ownership. After his death in 2019, his trust assumed ownership of the franchise.

The new ownership group also includes co-CEO of Ariel Investments Mellody Hobson and former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Not to mention seven-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton. The latter two were only added to the consortium in recent weeks, whereas negotiations for the deal moved swiftly from June.

In his first statement as owner, Rob Walton said:

"We are just so excited to become officially a part of the Broncos. It's a big, big day for us. Really, really exciting. It's been a great process and I want to extend a thanks with all the owners we've been involved with. Their warm greeting and support as we've met them along the way — haven't met all of them yet, but we're getting close — has just been good. It's a very wonderful group to become associated with."

The Walmart heir went onto acknowledge the legacy left behind by former owner Bowlen:

"We want to acknowledge Pat Bowlen's outstanding legacy, also, as well as the family. Pat's leadership and commitment to build a successful team and business and we'll continue to build on that."

He added:

"Putting a winning team on the field is our No. 1 priority. We can't wait to get to Denver, join our new colleagues and get to work."

Denver Broncos sale at $4.65 billion is a world record deal

AFC Championship - New England Patriots v Denver Broncos

The sale makes Rob Walton the richest owner in the NFL. With an estimated net worth of nearly $60 billion, Walton is ranked as the 19th richest person in the world by Forbes.

Moreover, the sale is also a world record deal. It comfortably eclipses the $2.4 billion purchase of MLB's New York Mets by hedgefund manager Steve Cohen. Within the NFL, the next highest deal is the sale of the Carolina Panthers, for $2.3bilion, to David Tepper in 2018.

Denver have failed to reach the playoffs since 2015, the season they won the Super Bowl. Their offseason acquisition of quarterback Russell Wilson has been followed by the recent sale of the franchise. Now, things finally seem to be heading in the right direction for the team and their fans.

We will see them in action when the season kicks off in a month's time.

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