Late Tuesday night, Sportico confirmed that Walmart heir Rob Walton won the bidding war for the Denver Broncos with a bid of $4.6 billion, a world-record-setting price for a sports franchise.
Walton is one of the richest men in the world, with an estimated net worth of $62 billion.
Now, as the new owner of the Denver Broncos, Walton is the richest NFL team owner, with a higher net worth than David Tepper (Panthers), Jerry Jones (Cowboys), Stan Kroenke (Rams) and Robert Kraft (Patriots) combined.
The bidding war for the Broncos featured names like 76ers owner Josh Harris, Magic Johnson and entertainment mogul Byron Allen.
In the end, the 18th richest man in the world won the bid in a history-making fashion.
The $4.6 billion puts it ahead of the sale price of English soccer team Chelsea FC.
The English Premier League team was acquired for $3.16 billion by an ownership group led by Todd Boehly, who agreed to commit another $2.21 billion to the team. So while the total deal was for $5.37 billion, the actual purchase price was $3.1 billion.
The win by Walton also made history because his group features Mellody Hobson, one of the most successful and talented businesswomen in the world.
Hobson, who is Black, is the co-CEO of Ariel Investments, Chairwoman of Starbucks and JP Morgan Chase director. She was also the former Chairwoman of Dreamworks Animation, which was sold to NBC Universal in 2016.
The Chicago-born and raised Hobson, who is married to Star Wars creator George Lucas, is the second woman in Walton’s ownership group and now becomes the NFL’s first Black woman team owner.
So the sale of the Denver Broncos made history in more ways than one.
