Who is Rob Walton? Walmart heir leads bid to purchase Broncos for record NFL deal

After years of purgatory, the Denver Broncos appear to have a new owner. Rob Walton, famous for his connection to the Walmart grocery store chain, has effectively won the bidding war for the team, according to Forbes via Front Office Sports.

The purchase is expected to be $4.5 billion, making the sale the "most expensive team sale in history." Heading into the auction, the team was estimated to be valued at $4 billion. Groups featuring Peyton Manning and John Elway had entered the fray at one point.

However, Rob Walton, the son of the founder of Walmart, won the auction for the team. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Rob Walton is valued at $68 billion. Assuming the purchase goes through as expected, his net worth would fall to $63.5 billion. Walton is listed as one of the 15 richest people in the world.

Initially, he embarked on a career in law. However, after just a few years of practicing the profession, he jumped into the business sector with his father's company. When his father died in 1992, he took over as Chairman of Walmart until 2015.

Denver Broncos in recent years

Denver Broncos v Kansas City Chiefs

Since winning the Super Bowl after the 2015 season, the team has been stuck in a quarterback search, with no quarterback lasting two full seasons as the starter with the team. At the same time, the team has been in a similar spot with their owner situation.

Pat Bowlen, whose health had been declining in the shadow of the Broncos' success with Peyton Manning, passed away in 2019, per NBC News. In 2014, he had stepped down as chief executive officer after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Many Broncos fans pointed to the lack of a conventional owner as a source of the team's troubles.

Without an owner to hold the team's executive offices accountable and focused, they posited, there was a lack of motivation to pull out every last stop and push the team to its brink. With a new owner in place, fans hope the team returns to its competitive ways, starting with John Elway's addition and ending with Peyton Manning's retirement after 2015.

This offseason, general manager George Paton traded for Russell Wilson. With a new quarterback and owner now essentially on the books, has the team begun a new era of stability after a tumultuous half-decade?