The Denver Broncos are for sale, and the ownership change comes at a key moment in the NFL. Last week, former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores filed a class-action lawsuit against the league and three of its teams alleging racial discrimination. While 70% of the NFL players are Black, according to Flores, there was only one Black coach when he filed his suit. One Black coach and one multiracial coach have been hired since then, but there remain no Black owners.
Among the relief measures sought in Flores’ lawsuit is for the NFL to “ensure diversity of ownership by creating and funding a committee dedicated to sourcing Black investors to take majority ownership stakes in NFL Teams.” Flores’ recommendation to fund a committee would presumably lead to more Black owners in the league, which, in turn, could lead to more Black coaches and executives. Flores gets into his take on ownership in the NFL at the 16:33 mark of this interview with NPR.
The Broncos won’t come cheap. NFL bylaws stipulate that at the time of the transaction, the new general partner (the individual who actively manages and exercises control over the team) must own at least a 30% stake in the team and use no more than $1 billion of debt against the team. Thus, if the Broncos were to be sold for $4 billion (enterprise value), the buyer would need at least $900 million of equity. Important to note is that whoever buys the Broncos will not get a bargain—the Pat Bowlen Trust has a fiduciary responsibility to get the highest price.
There aren’t many people–Black or white–who can afford the Broncos. The last NFL team to change hands was the Carolina Panthers, bought by hedge fund billionaire David Tepper for $2.3 billion in 2018. But NFL team values have risen dramatically since then, and the average team value is now $3.5 billion..
Black media mogul Byron Allen has said he is going to make a bid for the Broncos. Allen, a former comedian and TV host, has not appeared on the Forbes Billionaires list to date; it’s unclear just how much in cash and liquid assets he has. He has previously borrowed to help finance his company’s acquisitions, including for his $500 million purchase of new television stations in July 2021.
By Forbes’ count, there are only seven American Black billionaires. There’s also a question of whether any of them share Allen’s desire to own a football team. A source close to private-equity mogul Robert F. Smith, net worth $6.7 billion, said he’s not interested in buying the Broncos. Oprah Winfrey was part of a group that tried unsuccessfully to buy the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers in 2014, so she has shown an inclination to own a pro sports franchise. Forbes calculates her net worth at $2.6 billion. Winfrey didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Others—like NBA legend Michael Jordan; David Steward, founder and chairman of IT provider World Wide Technology; pop stars Jay-Z and Kanye West; or movie mogul Tyler Perry—might be able to pull off a deal for the Broncos by borrowing against their businesses, stocks or real estate.
Additional reporting by Jared Council, John Hyatt and Hank Tucker.
