Greg Penner

Broncos Name Damani Leech Team President

August 11th, 2022 at 11:20am CST by Sam Robinson

In addition to the Broncos now officially having new ownership, they will have another new decision-making presence. The team hired Damani Leech as its next president.

Leech, who spent the past three years as COO for NFL International, will join GM George Paton in reporting to Broncos CEO Greg Penner. The latter is the son-in-law of new owner Rob Walton. This will usher considerable change for the Broncos, who had Joe Ellis in place as their top executive for the past several years.

“Damani is highly regarded throughout the National Football League for his leadership, strategic vision and collaborative spirit,” the team said in a statement. “As a former college player with executive experience at both the NFL and NCAA levels, Damani understands the value of teamwork and knows what it takes to win—on and off the field.”

In addition to his NFL International role, Leech worked in the league office in different capacities over the past eight years. In the 17 years prior to that, Leech worked at the NCAA national office in Indianapolis.

Ellis was part of the three-person Pat Bowlen Trust that was in charge of the franchise, after the Hall of Fame owner stepped away from the team as he battled Alzheimer’s. Pat Bowlen died in 2019. Pat Bowlen’s youngest daughter, Brittany, was the NFL’s preferred candidate to succeed him. Days before Walton officially became the team’s owner, Brittany Bowlen stepped down from her post within the organization.

Penner said ownership will not become too involved in Broncos personnel decisions, via Troy Renck of Denver7 (on Twitter), being set to cede football ops-related responsibilities to Paton and HC Nathaniel Hackett. The new Broncos ownership was mum on Russell Wilson‘s contract situation, and although Penner mentioned (via Renck, on Twitter) Peyton Manning and John Elway as possible options to take on roles with the team, neither is firmly attached to anything. Both Hall of Famers were at the press conference this week introducing Walton and Co., however. All four ownership finalists spoke with Manning about a role with the team; Elway remains a consultant to the front office.

Terrell Davis Joined Josh Harris’ Ownership Group; More Fallout From Broncos Bidding

June 14th, 2022 at 1:35pm CST by Sam Robinson

Although the Broncos went for an American sports-record $4.65 billion — to the Rob Walton-fronted group — last week, Walton’s was not the only bid that would have shattered the NFL record.

Josh Harris‘ group is believed to have bid between $4.25 billion and $4.5 billion, Mike Klis of 9News reports. Harris, who owns the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils, was prepared to go $5 billion for the Broncos, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. But he was not assured Walton would not top that bid. That led to Harris’ group standing down, letting Walton’s bid win the historic sweepstakes. Harris is prepared to pursue ownership of another NFL team, Florio adds.

Tied to a net worth greater than $70 billion, putting him in position to be by far the NFL’s wealthiest owner, Walton had long been considered the frontrunner to acquire the AFC West franchise. Walton’s daughter (Carrie Walton Penner) and son-in-law (Greg Penner) are expected to run the day-to-day operations, Klis adds. Walton, 77, will continue to live in Arizona. Owners of the league’s other 31 teams will vote on this sale soon.

While Magic Johnson was part of Harris’ group, Klis notes Hall of Fame running back Terrell Davis joined that investment team as well. Davis, 49, starred for the Broncos in the 1990s, seeing a 1999 knee injury shorten his career, and played seven seasons with the team.

“They reached out; we talked,’’ Davis said, via Klis, of his affiliation with Harris’ bid. “They said they were interested in bringing me in as part of their ownership group and they wanted to know if the feeling was mutual. And it certainly was. And then it was waiting to see what would happen. I was on standby hoping for the bid, but obviously it never came.”

Rob Walton Submits NFL-Record $4.65 Billion Bid For Broncos

June 7th, 2022 at 11:44pm CST by Sam Robinson

The second round of bids for the Denver Broncos came through, and the long-rumored frontrunner remained ahead in the race. Rob Walton‘s group submitted a $4.65 billion bid to buy the AFC West franchise, Mike Klis of 9News reports. The group enters a sales agreement, one expected to lead to the Broncos having new owners ahead of the 2022 season.

That price not only shatters the NFL record — one David Tepper set when he bought the Carolina Panthers for $2.3 billion in 2018 — but breaks the American sports record by more than $2 billion. Walton, his daughter Carrie Walton Penner and son-in-law Greg Penner — all Walmart family heirs — will take over a Broncos franchise that had been in Pat Bowlen‘s family from 1984 until it went on the market in February. Although the Broncos have been run by the Pat Bowlen Trust for years, disagreements among the late owner’s children led to the team going up for sale.

Walton’s group beat out the Josh Harris– and Magic Johnson-fronted contingent, along with those headed by Mat and Justin Ishbia and Jose Feliciano, respectively. All four finalists submitted bids Monday, but Walton’s — unsurprisingly, as his approximately $70 billion net worth puts him in line to become the NFL’s richest owner — won out. Walton’s net worth more than triples Tepper’s. The Panthers owner’s $16.7 billion worth currently leads the league. Rob Walton, 77, is the oldest son of the late Walmart founder, Sam Walton.

“I have enjoyed getting to know Rob Walton, Carrie Walton Penner and Greg Penner throughout this process,” Broncos CEO and president Joe Ellis said in a statement. “Learning more about their background and vision for the Denver Broncos, I am confident that their leadership and support will help this team achieve great things on and off the field.”

This transaction’s next step will be an NFL finance committee review. A three-fourths approval among other owners will greenlight Walton’s transition to becoming the Broncos’ next owner. Tepper’s Panthers purchase garnered a 32-0 vote. Walton’s acquisition is not expected to be met with resistance. A special convening between NFL owners is expected to take place in July, Klis notes. Walton appears set to be the Broncos’ controlling owner. But his daughter and son-in-law, along with Arial Investments co-CEO Mellody Hobson, will play roles.

All four ownership groups reached out to Peyton Manning, who had expressed interest in being part of the franchise’s next group. John Elway had as well. It is unclear as of Tuesday night if the Hall of Fame quarterbacks will move forward with a Walton-run franchise. Elway, the team’s GM from 2011-20, currently serves as a consultant to GM George Paton.