What does Rob Walton’s purchase mean for the Denver Broncos’ future?

The game is about to change for the Denver Broncos.

It came as no surprise Tuesday night that the ownership group led by Walmart scion S. Robson Walton won the bidding for the Broncos. Even after recent hits to his Walmart stock, his net worth remains approximately $58 billion. It towered over the other three groups involved in this week’s bidding for the Broncos.

It also came as no shock that the Broncos fetched the highest price ever paid for a North American professional sports team. Walton and his group — which includes his daughter, Carrie Walton Penner, Walmart chair Greg Penner and business executive Mellody Hobson — will pay $4.65 billion for the Broncos.

That cost didn’t just break the previous North American sports record-sale price of $2.275 billion, paid by David Tepper for the Carolina Panthers in 2018. It shattered it.

So, what does it mean for the Broncos’ future?

1. MONEY IS NO OBJECT

During the Bowlen stewardship, the Broncos poured their financial resources into sustaining the football operations. But at times, the Broncos operated on the edge.

In 2008, the team had a round of layoffs that touched several non-football departments on the business side of the organization. Increased revenues in the last decade ensured that the Broncos avoided a similar fate during the pandemic; despite financial losses sustained around the NFL due to a lack of stadium revenue in 2020, the Broncos kept all of their employees in the fold and on salary.

But any questions instantly vanish with Walton in the picture. Not only does he become the wealthiest owner; he has an estimated $41.2 billion edge on the second-wealthiest owner, Tepper.

(If including trust ownership, the wealthiest current ownership group is actually the Paul Allen Trust, which administers the Seahawks and is worth over $20 billion.)

The NFL’s current four wealthiest owners — Tepper, Kansas City’s Hunt family, Stan Kroenke and Jerry Jones — have a combined net worth that falls short of Walton’s.

What does this mean? For starters, the Broncos should never be outbid in hires for football operations and coaching. And while the salary cap limits team spending on players, collecting the money for contract guarantees that must be put into escrow upon signing won’t be an issue.

Don’t be surprised, then, if Russell Wilson’s next contract includes every last dime being guaranteed.

2. NEW STADIUM AND FACILITIES?

The Broncos have nine more seasons remaining on their lease with Empower Field at Mile High. But the stadium has reached a point in its lifespan where repairs and renovations to keep pace with the rest of the NFL make building a new stadium a significant possibility.

The Titans and Nashville recently reached that conclusion. Their venue, Nissan Stadium, is two years older than Empower Field. But they estimated that renovation and maintenance costs of their 23-year-old home would cost a collective $1.8 billion. Instead, the city and team will build a new domed stadium for a cost between $1.9 and $2.2 billion.

A new venue with adjacent retail and real-estate development would open a waterfall of revenue to the Broncos.

While Walton could seek public financing, he has the net worth to bypass that entirely. A privately-financed venue would mean a significant outlay — but significant benefits, too. Stan Kroenke currently reaps those with the privately-funded SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif..

One thing to consider: Mile High Stadium was effectively rebuilt after 1966. By the time the city and county completed the build-out of the stadium, it was 1977. The Broncos effectively had a 24-season run in that venerable venue.

This season will be year No. 22 at Empower Field. It remains a functional and viable home. But it is entirely possible that Walton could determine that a better use of his money would be on a new venue.

Similar decisions were made by MLB’s Texas Rangers and Atlanta Braves in recent years. The example of the Braves is particularly relevant, as their move to a mixed-use development in the Atlanta suburbs sent their revenue into the stratosphere: $568 million in 2021 alone.

Such development also might not just be about the stadium — but a new training facility. For inspiration, Walton could look to The Star, the massive Cowboys complex built in suburban Frisco, Texas that includes restaurants, shops, a hotel and a 12,000-seat indoor stadium that hosts a few Cowboys training-camp practices, high-school football games and even college-basketball tournaments.

3. A KROENKE-WALTON ALLIANCE?

Stan Kroenke’s tentacles are deep into Denver sports, with ownership of the Nuggets, Avalanche and Rapids. He bought the rights to develop the land adjacent to Ball Arena, currently the site of Elitch Gardens.

Just across Interstate 25 sits Empower Field. In 2019, the Denver city council approved the Stadium District Master Plan, which gave the Broncos the rights to develop the land south of the stadium into a mixed-use neighborhood. But for the last three years, those plans have been on hold.

Kroenke’s wife, Ann Walton Kroenke, is the cousin of Rob Walton. The familial connections are obvious, of course.

Do the two branches of the Walmart tree work together — or do they try to top each other in capital investment and facilities? If the Broncos stay on their current spot west of I-25, do Kroenke and Walton collaborate on a sports-city development?

Either way, they have the potential to transform not only the Denver sports scene, but Denver itself.

4. THE NFL WANTED MINORITY INVOLVEMENT, AND IT GOT IT

Joining the Walton-Penner group is Mellody Hobson, the co-CEO of Ariel Investments, a director with JPMorgan Chace and chairperson of the board of Starbucks. When she became the Starbucks chair in 2020, she became the first Black woman to become chair of a Standard and Poor’s 500 company.

But the true significance of Hobson’s involvement is the prominent place for a Black co-owner. NFL commissioner Roge Goodell made it clear at the league meeting in March that the league wanted minority representation somewhere in the ownership group that purchased the Broncos. Broncos president/CEO Joe Ellis shared that sentiment.

In Hobson, they get one of the most accomplished American business minds of the 21st century.

Hobson’s husband is George Lucas, the filmmaker who created the “Star Wars” universe. Lucas sold Lucasfilm in 2012 to the Walt Disney Company for $4.05 billion — half in cash, half in Disney stock.

5. A COLORADO CONNECTION

Believe it or not, the new owners of the Broncos have more of a connection to Colorado than Pat Bowlen did — at least at the time of the last sale of the Broncos.

Bowlen established his name and fortune in Edmonton, Alberta. Upon buying the Broncos, he moved to Colorado. But for Rob Walton, Colorado is a place he knows well. He owned a home in Aspen. His son, Ben, is a long-time Colorado resident.

“Having lived and worked in Colorado, we’ve always admired the Broncos,” Walton said in a statement. “Our enthusiasm has only grown as we’ve learned more about the team, staff and Broncos Country over the last few months.”

6. ARE MORE TEAM SALES TO COME?

Certainly, the skyrocketing value of NFL franchises limit the pool of available owners. However, it is possible that some current owners may look upon the value of their assets and deem the near future to be an apt time to cash out.

For some team owners who have football as their primary business, it could take some legal work with estate taxes and other factors involved with inheritance to ensure that their teams remain in their families. Otherwise, a sale may be the more palatable option.

The Broncos became the first NFL team in four years to hit the market. Don’t expect it to take another four years for the next NFL team sale to happen. But the wealth and wherewithal of the Walton-Penner group also makes it likely that the Broncos will belong to their family for generations.