Not long after the Broncos were officially put up for sale, the first two candidates to purchase the team have been named. According to multiple reports, media mogul Byron Allen and billionaire Alec Gores have plans to place a bid on the franchise.
Allen, whose bidding intention was first reported by Bloomberg, has been in the national spotlight dating back to his time on "The Tonight Show." He has since acquired dozens of national and regional media outlets, raising the profile of the Allen Media Group, which he fully owns. The 60-year-old’s net worth is estimated to be $450M, but he is said to be assembling a “who’s who” of fellow investors from across the business, sports and entertainment industries, though none of them have been identified as of now.
Allen’s name being linked to the Broncos is nothing new. As Troy Renck of Denver7 writes, he said, “[NFL commissioner] Roger Goodell and [Patriots owner] Robert Kraft came to me in November 2019 and asked me to take a good look at buying an NFL team. After serious consideration, I strongly believe I can effectuate positive changes.”
Those “changes” are a reference to the fact that Allen, if successful, would become the NFL’s first Black owner.
The desire for added diversity in NFL ownership is a stated goal of Gooddell’s in this bidding process.
“We would love to see a diverse owner of the team, whether that’s a person of color, or a female, or a Black man, we think that would be a really positive step for us. And something we’ve encouraged,” he said.
Allen’s interest in the Broncos isn’t simply because they are the only team up for sale, according to Mike Klis of 9News.
“Oh my gosh. I love the Broncos," he said in an interview. “And I have a great deal of respect for Pat Bowlen… I have an enormous respect for him and his family and what they’ve done… I wouldn’t get involved unless I believed I could grow on what they’ve built.”
Gores, meanwhile, is at the head of a triumvirate of investors – the other two being Dean Metropoulos and Mat Ishbia – involved in the competing bid. The 69-year-old owns the Gores Group, which is based in Beverley Hills and “purchases and sells companies,” according to the original report of his interest in the L.A. Times. The three men are reportedly valued at $10B. Gores’ brother Tom currently owns the Detroit Pistons.
Former Broncos quarterbacks John Elway and Peyton Manning are still believed to be involved in a bid but not for a controlling share. Renck adds that “there is expected to be an additional minority-led group bidding as well.”
Any successful bid would require the majority owner to hold at least a 30% stake in the team, which would equate to a cost of $1.2B if the total sale price ends up at the estimated $4B mark.
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