Black NFL team ownership could finally become a reality this year courtesy of the Denver Broncos.
When the franchise went up for sale, team connected names such as John Elway, Peyton Manning and Brittany Bowlen, daughter of late team owner Bill Bowlen, surfaced immediately.
But two other names emerged that stirred a different type of excitement.
Billionaire business owner Robert F. Smith and media mogul Byron Allen.
Smith, 59, is the founder of Vista Equity Partners, an $86 billion global technology investment firm. He’s also a Denver native and the richest Black man in America, with an estimated worth of $6.7 billion.
Allen, 60, is the Founder and CEO of Entertainment Studios. He’s a producer, show host, owner of multiple TV stations and media properties including the Weather Channel and The Grio, and has an estimated net worth of $450 million.
The addition of two of the wealthiest Black men in America to the list of suitors immediately garnered attention outside of the NFL community.
Yet team ownership for Black individuals and people of color is not a foreign concept by any means.
Giannis Antetokounmpo purchased a stake in the Milwaukee Brewers last August and Valerie Daniels-Carter is both a minority owner of the Milwaukee Bucks and sits on the Board of Directors of the Green Bay Packers.
In MLS, there is a slew of minority investors including Kevin Garnett, James Harden, Ciara and Russell Wilson, Magic Johson and rapper Yo Gotti.
As for team owners, Shad Khan owns the Jacksonville Jaguars, Kim Pegula is co-owner of both the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres and Arte Moreno is the owner of the Los Angeles Angels.
But when it comes to Black majority team ownership, Michael Jordan is the sole principal Black owner of an NBA franchise, and any major professional sports franchise for that matter.
In 2006, Jordan joined the then-Charlotte Bobcats as a minority investor. In 2010, the NBA Board of Governors approved the sale of the team to Jordan for $275 million. Four years later they returned to their original Charlotte Hornets team moniker.
Apart from Jordan, majority team ownership has frustratingly eluded Black people for far too long.
This can finally end with the sale of the Denver Broncos.
To purchase the franchise, which is valued at an estimated $4 billion, a buyer must satisfy the NFL’s requirement that principal owners have at least 30% of the purchase price in cash ($1.3 billion). If that condition is met, then 75% of the team owners (24 out of 32) would have to approve the sale of the team.
Robert F. Smith, while rumored to be a suitor for the team, has not officially stated his interest in purchasing the franchise. Some have reported that he’s not interested in it at all. But if he enters the bidding process, he has the required financial resources.
Byron Allen doesn’t personally have that level of wealth, but he claims to have the support of key NFL executives.
“NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft came to me in November of 2019 and asked me to take a good look at buying an NFL team,” said Allen.
From a business standpoint, owning a professional sports team is glamorous. And while it doesn’t act as an owner’s primary source of income, what it can add to their portfolio makes it attractive.
Just ask Stan Kroenke.
In 1995, Kroenke became a minority owner of the then-St. Louis Rams. In 2010, the league approved his $750 million purchase of the team.
In 2016, he paid the league $550 million to move the team back to L.A. They played in the LA Memorial Coliseum until 2020 when SoFi Stadium was completed. They share SoFi with the Chargers and just hosted Super Bowl LVI, which was won by the Rams.
This past November, the NFL and Kroenke agreed to pay $790 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the city of St. Louis over the team’s move back to L.A.
So why was this a great purchase for Kroenke?
He purchased an NFL team and moved them to a major market for essentially $1.3 billion, plus whatever he had to pay as part of the settlement (party allocations were not disclosed).
Then he built a $5 billion stadium which increased the value of the franchise from $780 million in 2012 (31st in the league) to $3.8 billion in 2021 (4th).
In addition, he’s part of the multi-billion dollar redevelopment taking place around the stadium in Inglewood, CA, which adds to his assets and future bottom line.
Now, we know the development and gentrification of Inglewood come at the expense of longtime residents who are being priced out of the area. But that’s something Smith or Allen could address should it arise if they purchase the team and build a new stadium.
Empower Field at Mile High was built in 2001 for $400.9 million. 20 years later, a new stadium could be on the docket. If approved and built, the team’s value would increase immediately (they’re currently ranked 10th by Forbes).
That’s the type of generational, and transformative, power move Smith or Allen could establish by acquiring the Broncos.
Remember, purchasing an NFL team is not an everyday occurrence.
Of the 32 NFL franchises, only 10 have been bought/sold since 2000. Some have had the same owners since the 1920s and 1930s, demonstrating that it’s a generational acquisition.
The most recent purchase occurred in 2018 when David Tepper bought the Panthers for $2.275 billion after Jerry Richardson was forced to sell the team due to allegations of workplace misconduct.
Pat Bowlen owned the Broncos from 1984 until his passing in 2019. With it being in the 16th largest media market, it’s one of the most valuable teams to hit the market in recent years.
By purchasing the Broncos, Smith or Allen can do something no Black individual has done before and further cement their legacies.
The time for Black majority team ownership is now, so let’s hope Smith or Allen can make it a reality.
