Jeff Bezos reportedly uninterested in buying Broncos
Oct 25, 2021, 2:08 PM
If the Denver Broncos do indeed end up with new ownership before next season, one rumored suitor has reportedly said he’s not interested in the franchise.
Peter King wrote in his Football Morning in America post for this week that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, whom the likes of Jerry Jones and Robert Kraft would like to see in an NFL ownership role, doesn’t have an interest in owning the team.
“… I hear he’s not interested. At least now he’s not,” King wrote.
King, however, did report that “at least four individuals of means have been actively digging around to discover if said purchase will be smart.”
Indeed any potential Broncos buyer would likely need some serious capital to afford the team, which Forbes valued at $3.75 billion in August — good enough for 10th among all NFL clubs. And that figure could balloon with the league more and more embracing sports betting.
Just ahead of training camp this year, Broncos president and CEO Joe Ellis said there was “great resistance” for a long time by the league to embrace and associate with gambling entities.
But “if you can’t beat them, join them,” Ellis said.
“It’s become the norm across the world, and now with the use of technology and the phones that are all in our pockets, it’s there to stay,” Ellis said. “There’s the way we can associate with the various entities and corporations that are involved in gambling and maintain the integrity of the game. I believe that can still be done, and it is being done.”
Ellis said at the time that the “sale of the team is always possible,” but if it were to remain in the Bowlen family — with Brittany Bowlen at the helm — certain “conditions” would need to be met.
“They could come in various forms,” Ellis said. “There might be one or two other options within that option, if that makes sense.”
In any case, the Pat Bowlen Trust, which currently operates the franchise, will begin the process of transferring ownership next year with the expectation of having a new owner in place before the 2022 season.
