Josh Harris, the co-owner of the 76ers, was willing to pay as much as $5 billion to earn majority ownership of the Broncos, according to Pro Football Talk.
However, Harris’s biggest concern was if he would be fully assured ownership of the team if he put up $5 billion. According to PFT, those in control of the ownership negotiations never solidified full assurance that Harris would become the team’s next majority owner, even with money on standby.
Harris was also reportedly worried that if he put a $5 billion bid on the table, opposing bidders would go higher. Instead, late Tuesday night, the Broncos announced that Rob Walton, Carrie Walton Penner and Greg Penner reached a purchase agreement to hold majority ownership of the franchise.
While the official sale amount for the team has not been released, reports surfaced that the franchise sold at a sports franchise record of $4.65 billion according to KUSA-TV in Denver.
However, Broncos president and CEO Joe Ellis shared in a statement that the sale is still pending approval from the NFL’s financial committee and league ownership.
Walton, who is worth nearly $70.5 billion according to Forbes, is the billionaire heir and son of Sam Walton, who created the popular superstore chain.
Pat Bowlen, the Broncos previous owner, died in 2019. After Bowlen’s death, the Pat Bowlen Trust took control of ownership of the team until February when it announced that the franchise would be put up for sale.
