How Russell Wilson is already building his relationship with Rob Walton and the Broncos’ new owners

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — It was date night for Russell Wilson and Ciara.

As the two enjoyed top-notch fish flown into Denver that day at Sushi Den, Wilson’s phone rang. And rang. And rang.

George Paton and Patrick Smyth, the team’s chief communications officer, wanted to be the first to tell Wilson that the organization had entered into a purchase and sale agreement with the Walton-Penner family.

But Greg Penner, Rob Walton’s son-in-law who will be running the team on a day-to-day basis with his wife Carrie Walton Penner, wanted to personally deliver the news to the start quarterback as well.

“As soon as they called, I got a call from Mr. Penner himself. He called and I got to talk to him,” Wilson said after Monday’s mandatory minicamp practice. “I was like, ‘Oh, this is interesting. This must be good news.’ He called and I got to talk to them for a while, Greg and Carrie. [We] talked about a lot of stuff, but they got to meet ‘C’ (Ciara) a little bit. Just a cool experience.”

The following morning, Wilson talked to Rob Walton, who is worth between $50 billion and $70 billion, on the phone.

But it wasn’t Wilson and Walton’s first time talking to each other.

In fact, when Walton visited the organization in May, not only did the two meet, they sat down and began to form their relationship.

“I got to spend some time with them. I got to spend time with Mr. Walton himself. I got to spend time with Greg Penner. I got to spend time with Carrie [Walton Penner] as well,” Wilson explained. “We’ve had some really good bonding moments just about life and success and visions and all the things that they wanted to do and how they wanted to impact the Broncos.”

And on Monday morning, just before the start of mandatory minicamp, Wilson finally got to talk to the fourth major member of the ownership group, Mellody Hobson.

“What a tremendous accomplishment and what a gift to be able to do what she’s going to do. She’s the first black woman to do this. This is a big deal. This is history. I think it’s gone over people’s heads a little bit. It’s news,” Wilson said about Hobson, who is the president and co-CEO of Ariel Investments and the chairwoman of Starbucks. “It’s a tremendous representation for minorities, but Blacks in particular. I think the growth within the NFL and what they are trying to do—the Waltons, too. To do that and honor that is pretty awesome.”

In less than a week after the deal became official, Wilson had not only talked to the top four members of the Broncos’ new ownership group, but had begun building his relationship with them because he knows how important it is.

“Being able to talk to Mr. Walton himself and be able to talk to Greg and Carrie—it’s an honor to be able to do that in the first place. In today’s age of football, that relationship between players and owners is so critical because we’re playing for ourselves and our families, but we’re also playing for them, too,” Wilson explained. “We’re playing for this whole city. To be able to have that bond and that kind of relationship—you notice it a lot in basketball, particularly, with some of the ownership groups. There are some in football, too. That’s been important.”

Wilson not only knows the importance as a player, but he knows it from the ownership side as well with he and Ciara being part owners of the Seattle Sounders soccer team.

“I think that relationship is really important, and we want to do everything we can to win. That dialogue is everything. That’s what helps win,” he added. “It’s been awesome. I think the new ownership group is going to be great.”

Two of the reasons why Wilson believes in the new ownership group is because of their commitment to the community and their dedication to winning.

“It’s about being successful and giving us all the resources we need to make sure that we’re successful and do whatever we need to do and just be great,” No. 3 explained.

With the ownership nearly in place, the Broncos will now have the four pillars of the organization—owner, general manager, coach and quarterback—set for the foreseeable future, something that has not been the case for years in Denver.

“I think for us, it’s about doing whatever we can as players of giving ourselves the best chance,” Wilson said. “I think Coach Hackett, and I think George Paton are amazing. These guys are top-notch guys. They know how to lead. So that’s what we’re excited about.”

A day after giving the commencement speech at Dartmouth, his father’s alma mater, inspiring the future generation, Wilson left the new ownership group with a similar charge.

“I think with change there comes great opportunity.”