Broncos to Begin Sale Process After 38 Years of Bowlen Family Ownership

The Denver Broncos are officially for sale.

After 38 years under Bowlen family ownership, the AFC West team announced Tuesday that the Pat Bowlen Trust is beginning the sale process.

"Whoever emerges as the new owner will certainly understand what the team means to our great fans and this community," Broncos president and CEO Joe Ellis said.

According to Ryan O'Halloran of the Denver Post, the Broncos are expected to "set a record price for a U.S. professional sports franchise."

He pointed to the 2018 sale of the Carolina Panthers for $2.275 billion and said the price tag here should be much higher since the NFL just signed a television deal for $113 billion over 10 years. What's more, the further legalization of sports gambling opens other revenue streams for teams.

O'Halloran also explained the trustees in place for the Broncos must accept the highest-qualified bid since they "have a fiduciary duty to the beneficiaries (seven of Bowlen’s eight children)." The trustees and any firms they hire will then present a buyer to the NFL's finance committee, which will, in turn, make a recommendation to the league's owners.

Pat Bowlen purchased a majority interest in the team in 1984 and retired in 2014 because of Alzheimer's disease.

O'Halloran noted "the future of the Broncos has been mired in uncertainty since Bowlen retired" with multiple children making efforts to succeed their father. 

The trustees denied Beth Bowlen Wallace in 2018 before Brittany Bowlen made her attempt months later. While she was promoted to senior vice president of strategy and was a preferred choice of the trustees, she never landed the unanimous family support that Ellis said would be "necessary moving forward" for such a move to happen.

That means the team is now for sale, and Woody Paige of the Denver Gazette reported in January that Broncos legends Peyton Manning and John Elway are expected to be in different groups bidding on the club.

Elway quarterbacked Denver to two of its Super Bowl rings, while Manning led it to its third.