Broncos Rumors: Byron Allen Among Candidates to Buy Team for $5 Billion Price Tag

Actor, comedian and founder of the Allen Media Group, Byron Allen, is reportedly leading an ownership group that is still in the running to buy the Denver Broncos, according to Mike Klis of 9News.com. 

If that bid is successful—and if Allen is the controlling partner of the investment group—he would be the NFL's first Black controlling owner. 

The Broncos, who already held a first round of bidding and are expecting to be sold for somewhere in the neighborhood of $5 billion, have a handful of potential ownership groups still in the running. 

One is Allen and a "handful of investors with deep pockets to help in his bid," per Klis. The others include:

• A group led by Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils majority owner Josh Harris, with Magic Johnson serving as a minority owner. 
• A group led by former Walmart chairman Rob Walton. 
• Todd Boehly, who holds minority stakes in the Los Angeles Dodgers and Lakers and is in the process of purchasing Premier League side Chelsea for $4.2 billion. 
  

Per Klis, there are also three other unidentified groups still reportedly in the mix. 

Allen, 61, started his career as a stand-up comedian and appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson as an 18-year-old. He also appeared on the shows Real People and Kickin' It with Byron Allen.

He founded Entertainment Studios in 1993, which owns several cable news channels, including The Weather Channel, and formed Allen Media Broadcasting in 2019. 

The Broncos were previously owned by Pat Bowlen (1984-2013) and the Pat Bowlen Trust after he gave up control of the team due to suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Bowlen died in 2019.