Before we get started, here are five quick thoughts on the Broncos’ sale that went down late into the night Tuesday.
1) The NFL is getting what a lot of owners wanted, and that’s someone with experience running a legacy company (in this case, Walmart). In that way, Rob Walton joining the league’s ownership circle, at a price of $4.65 billion, is analogous to Home Depot founder Arthur Blank buying the Falcons nearly two decades ago. Most of the newer owners in recent years have been money guys or real estate tycoons.
2) The Broncos fetching a number that’s more than double what the Panthers did shouldn’t be surprising. Maybe they aren’t the Giants or Steelers, but the franchise has established itself as one of the league’s most stable and successful for the last 40 years. There’s a to build on there.
3) The market is vibrant—Denver is growing, and there’s a lot of money there. And while it’s not a huge television market (16th in the U.S.), the team’s footprint is massive. Remember, Colorado is bordered by six states that don’t have NFL teams, and the closest one to Denver (Kansas City) is 600 miles away. Compare that to the I-95 corridor, with six teams (Commanders, Ravens, Eagles, Jets, Giants, Patriots) within a stretch of about 450 miles of highway, and you can see the opportunity.
4) David Tepper bought the Panthers in 2019 in part because he thought it was a sound investment, with a looming gambling boom likely to make team values skyrocket. He got Carolina at $2.275 billion. Again, the Broncos went for more than double that. Tepper’s not perfect, but it’s fair to say he’s pretty good at reading markets.
5) The Walton family dynamic, with the Rams owned by Rob Walton’s cousin’s husband, Stan Kroenke, is now pretty interesting. Not only do you have the two of them in the NFL, you also now have the family controlling three of the big four teams in Denver. Kroenke owns the NHL’s Avalanche and the NBA’s Nuggets, as well as MLS’s Rapids and the National Lacrosse League’s Mammoth.
