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The Denver Broncos have just recently been sold to the Walton-Penner ownership group. Of which Sam Walton, Carrie Walton-Penner, Greg Penner and Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton are members. The sales tag is an astounding $4.65 billion. The sale was completed today after NFL owners unanimously approved the transaction.
Comparatively, this is one of the most expensive team sales in recent memory across all major sports:
- New York Mets, $2.4 billion
- Brooklyn Nets, $2.35 billion
- Carolina Panthers, $2.275 billion
- Houston Rockets, $2.2 billion
John Elway has been around the Denver Broncos for a long time. He played all 16 of his seasons in Denver and was a nine-time Pro Bowler. Elway was Denver's general manager from 2011 to 2020. He's still the President of Football Operations.
This team means a lot to him, but an investing decision cost him an incredible $930 million. Elway declined a 20% stake in the team back in 1998.
Fast forward to today when the team is being sold for over $4.5 billion and it's clear that Elway made a huge mistake.
His estimated net worth is $145 million, so the former quarterback is doing just fine. But the decision not to be part of the team's ownership cost him a huge sum of money.
The Denver Broncos have finally found their franchise quarterback
After John Elway retired in 1998, Denver struggled to find consistency at quarterback. They plugged Brian Griese in for four seasons before moving to Jake Plummer for the next three-and-a-half years. Next, Jay Cutler took over, but he was succeeded by Kyle Orton in 2009. Tim Tebow was a one-season disappointment before Peyton Manning joined the team in 2012.
Manning was coming off a major neck injury and in his 30's, but he changed Denver's trajectory. Manning took them to two Super Bowls, losing the first to the Seattle Seahawks in the 2013 season. Two years later, he returned to the big game and the Broncos beat the Carolina Panthers. At the pinaccle of acheivement, Manning retired. Since then, Denver have once again been struggling at quarterback.
The quarterback room has been a revolving door. Denver have rolled out the following players under center:
- Brock Osweiler
- Trevor Siemien
- Paxton Lynch
- Case Keenum
- Joe Flacco
- Drew Lock
- Brandon Allen
- Teddy Bridgewater
They've now traded for Russell Wilson. Much like Manning, Wilson is unlikely to be in Denver for a decade. He's 33 years old, so he's still got some good years ahead. This is something the Broncos are counting on.
Wilson is expected to lift Denver from the disappointing 7-10 team of last season and take them into contention. Whether this is realistic is yet to be seen. The AFC West is a warzone of talented rosters. Featuring the Kansas City Chiefs, the Las Vegas Raiders and the Los Angeles Chargers, the West is the toughest division in football.
Denver also have reasons to be optimistic. Many of their players are held in the highest regard, but have been limited by poor quarterback play. With a franchise quarterback under center, the Broncos could well challenge in 2022. We will see them in a month's time when the season kicks off.
