The Broncos have a new Hall of Famer, and he’s furry

Miles the Mascot, the orange-maned stallion who has roamed the sidelines at Empower Field at Mile High for a quarter-century in support of the Denver Broncos, has been inducted into the Mascot Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2026.

The announcement was made Friday morning on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” capping a global fan vote that drew ballots from 109 countries across six continents. Miles is the only NFL mascot inducted this year and joins Cocky (University of South Carolina), Cosmo (Brigham Young University), Goldy Gopher (University of Minnesota) and Mrs. Met (New York Mets) in the five-member class. Mrs. Met is expected to become the first female mascot inducted into the Hall.

Miles is the sixth NFL mascot enshrined in the Mascot Hall of Fame and the second Denver-based mascot to earn the honor, joining the Nuggets’ Rocky. Rocky was asked to become the Broncos mascot as well, before the Broncos pivoted to create Miles.

Miles’ origin story is forever linked to one of the most significant nights in Broncos history. He debuted Sept. 10, 2001, the night Denver christened what was then known as Invesco Field at Mile High with a 31-20 Monday Night Football victory over the New York Giants. The franchise was  riding high, opening their new stadium and just a few years removed from back-to-back Super Bowl championships.

The evening was marred only by the gruesome broken leg suffered by wide receiver Ed McCaffrey that led to a delay. But everything that happened on that field became a footnote to history less than 12 hours later, when the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks shook the nation. Historians have estimated that the late Monday night kickoff in Denver and delay from McCaffrey’s injury may have saved lives in New York; some Giants fans who stayed up on the East Coast to watch the game called in to work the next morning and were not in their offices when the towers fell.

Miles, of course, could not have known any of that when he first bounded onto the field that night. He simply went to work — and he has not stopped since.

In 25 seasons, Miles has been on the sideline for four AFC Championship Games, two Super Bowl appearances and the franchise’s third championship — the Super Bowl 50 victory. His signature moment comes every home game when he scales the stadium scoreboard to signal the start of the fourth quarter, a tradition that has become one of the most recognizable in-game rituals in the NFL.

Off the field, Miles leads one of the league’s most active community-service mascot programs, averaging more than 325 appearances across the Denver metro area each year, including monthly visits to Children’s Hospital Colorado. He has also taken his act global, performing in 10 countries and territories with stops at the Chinese New Year’s Parade in Hong Kong, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City, the Pro Bowl in Hawaii and at U.S. military bases around the world.

“Mascots create memories that last a lifetime,” Mascot Hall of Fame co-founder and owner Christopher Bruce said in a statement. “They inspire kids, young and old, unite communities, comfort people in difficult moments, and remind us that laughter is something we all share and need.”

The Class of 2026 follows the 2025 inductees: Toro (Houston Texans), Blitz (Seattle Seahawks), SJ Sharkie (San Jose Sharks), Fredbird (St. Louis Cardinals) and Sebastian the Ibis (University of Miami).

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