Step aside David Tepper, Stan Kroenke and Jerry Jones, there’s a new king in the NFL.
On Tuesday night in the Mile High City, the Denver Broncos became the wealthiest team in the entire National Football League when they announced the organization had entered into a purchase and sale agreement with the Walton-Penner family.
Yes, the Walton family that has run Walmart since its inception.
Led by Rob Walton (77), his daughter Carrie Walton Penner (51) and Carrie’s husband Greg Penner (52), the Broncos made history and set new heights in one of the most prestigious and wealthiest clubs in the world that is NFL ownership.
After Pat Bowlen purchased the organization in 1982 for $78 million, the team will sell for a record-shattering $4.65 billion in 2022.
Not only does the nearly $5 billion sale of the team set the record for the price of any NFL team ever sold, it breaks the record for any North American team ever sold.
Eclipsing $4.6 billion, the Broncos over doubled the previous record for the sale of a team, which had belonged to the Carolina Panthers, who sold for $2.275 billion in 2018.
But $4.65 billion hardly makes a dent in Walton’s net worth, which was valued by Forbes this year at $65 billion. That makes Walton the richest owner in the NFL by flying colors.
The previous holder of that title was Panthers owner David Tepper. He’s worth $16.7 billion. That means the Broncos’ new owner is worth nearly four times more the second-wealthiest owner in the NFL.
Additionally, Walton nearly takes the cake as the wealthiest sports owner in the entire world. Walton checks in as the third-wealthiest owner in all of sports, only trailing Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Balmer and Mumbai Indians owner Mukesh Ambani.
While money can’t necessarily buy happiness, it can buy a lot when it comes to the NFL. Tens of billions of dollars can build a new stadium, a new team headquarters and sign prized quarterbacks to fully-guaranteed contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
All of those options are now on the table with Walton and his cash.
Additionally, Walton announced Mellody Hobson, the Co-CEO of Ariel Investments will join the team’s ownership group. Among her many accomplishments, Hobson serves as the Chair of the Board of Starbucks Corporation and is a director of JPMorgan Chase.
The Broncos will have to wait roughly two to three months for the cash to officially come to town as the agreement must be approved by the NFL’s finance committee and league ownership. The sale is not expected to have any hiccups.
By the time Russell Wilson takes the field in Week 1, the Denver Broncos will likely have the wealthiest owner in the NFL officially in place.
