More than six months after the Broncos were put up for sale, the team is expected to have new ownership in place on Tuesday afternoon.
A special league meeting will be held in Minneapolis, where Broncos president/CEO Joe Ellis will present the Walton-Penner ownership group to the other 31 NFL teams.
A “yes” vote by at least 24 teams will finalize the purchase of the Broncos for a world-record sports franchise price of $4.65 billion.
Once approved, the group led by Rob Walton, Greg Penner and Carrie Walton-Penner, and including limited partners Mellody Hobson, Condoleezza Rice and Lewis Hamilton, will be the Broncos’ first new owners in 38 years. It is unclear which members of the ownership group will be present in Minneapolis for the meeting, which is generally a formality once the NFL’s Finance Committee approves of the transaction, which it did last month.
The Walton-Penner group reached a sale agreement with Broncos officials in early June. Since then, they have been in regular contact with Broncos executives.
The football side of the Broncos has maintained the ownership transition has not been a distraction.
“I was brought here to do a job and get this team ready to compete and get into the playoffs and I’m really focused on that,” coach Nathaniel Hackett said after practice Monday. “That’s been my priority, this team and getting them ready to rock and roll. When it comes to ownership, I’m so excited to meet them and get to know them.”
