Wednesday's NFL: Broncos now sport the NFL's richest, most diverse ownership

Englewood, Colo. — The Denver Broncos now sport the wealthiest owner in the NFL and the league's most diverse ownership group.

Four of the six members of the Walton-Penner ownership group which was welcomed into the NFL fraternity this week, are either women or minorities.

Walmart heir Rob Walton said Wednesday that his son-in-law, Greg Penner, will serve as CEO of the team. Penner, in turn, said he'll soon hire a team president.

Those roles had been held by Joe Ellis, who is staying on this year as an advisor.

Penner said he'll be the point person “but this is an incredible group. We're going to draw on all of them.”

Walton thanked Ellis for his 27 years of service and paid tribute to the late Pat Bowlen, who purchased the team in 1984 for $78 million and who died in 2019 a month shy of his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

“Pat Bowlen built a great legacy and a record of winning and championships,” Walton said. “We plan to do everything we can to build on the championship tradition of this great organization. ... Simply put, it's an honor to steward this historic franchise. Our No. 1 priority is putting a winning team on the field to win Super Bowls.”

Walton, the oldest child of Walmart co-founder Sam Walton, bought the Broncos along with his daughter, Carrie Walton Penner, and her husband, for $4.65 billion, a global record for a professional sports franchise.

Walton's estimated net worth is $60 billion. Before Walton's group purchased the Broncos, the NFL's wealthiest owner was Carolina’s David Tepper, whom Forbes estimates has a total net worth of $16.7 billion.

The ownership group includes limited partners Mellody Hobson, Condoleezza Rice and Lewis Hamilton. Hobson is CEO of Starbucks, Rice is a professor at Stanford and former U.S. Secretary of State and Hamilton is the winningest Formula One driver in history.

All three investors are Black, satisfying the league’s goal to bring more racial diversity into ownership groups, front offices and coaching staffs.

“We wanted to add people that brought different perspectives and experiences and certainly we have that here,” Penner said. "Lewis, being the G.O.A.T. (greatest of all time) Formula One driver, Dr. Rice with all of her experience in politics and academics and world affairs, Mellody, as a you know, an incredible businesswoman and her track record there.

“We’re big believers in bringing together different perspectives and experiences and backgrounds and that we think will make us more successful.”

All but Hamilton, who's in season, gathered at team headquarters a day after fellow NFL owners unanimously approved the sale Tuesday in Minnesota.

The Broncos new ownership group met with staff and players before practice and star safety Justin Simmons said he was proud to see so many faces of color.

“To see some diversity and to see strong, Black women in the ownership group, I mean, what an inspiration for so many people," said Simmons, who is biracial. "There's little girls out here whose dads play on the team and they can look up at the ownership of the Broncos and they can see someone that looks just like them and I think that's really great.

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“But I think the biggest thing on top of that is they didn't just do that to do that,” Simmons said. “I mean, these are really powerful, qualified individuals that deserve this, earned this, worked for this. And that to me in inspiring.”

Hobson called it “such an honor and a privilege to be an owner of this remarkable organization. ... The moment is humbling and it's historical, and yet, I feel at home.”

Hobson said when she was first approached about joining the ownership group, she encouraged Walton to also bring aboard her friend Hamilton.

“Lewis is my chosen little brother,” she said. “As soon as this opportunity came up, I said, ‘You have to have Lewis.’ I met Lewis in his rookie season as an F1 driver We bonded over time. As many of you know, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth and I call him, ‘Sir Little Brother.’

“He has this winning mentality not just on the track but in everything that he does. He cares deeply about people, about our planet and as the first and one (Black F1 driver) in his sport, about diversity, equity and inclusion.”

Rice, who grew up in Denver, joked that her late father, who was a big football fan, “has to be thinking, ‘She finally got a really important job.’”

Penner, who said he doesn't anticipate bringing aboard any more limited partners, demurred when asked if John Elway or Peyton Manning would be involved with the team going forward.

The new owners met with both on the field Wednesday. Elway told The Associated Press earlier this year that he'd like to advise the new owners to help them in their first year.

“We're just going to learn from both of them," Penner said. "I think it's going to be a really good relationship.”

While saying he was thrilled that GM George Payton acquired quarterback Russell Wilson this spring, Penner gave no timeline for a contract extension that's expected to be worth about $260 million over five years.

Bears remove Smith from PUP list, another twist in standoff

Lake Forest, Ill. — The Chicago Bears' standoff with Roquan Smith took another turn Wednesday when the team removed the star linebacker from the physically unable to perform list a day after he went public with a trade demand.

It was unclear if the Bears took him off the list because of a potential contract extension or trade, or to fine him for missing practices.

Smith has been a “hold-in” since training camp began with negotiations on a new deal apparently at a standstill.

Placing him on the physically unable to perform list allowed him to attend meetings and workouts at Halas Hall without being fined for missing practices.

Smith, who does not have an agent, accused the Bears of not negotiating in good faith in a statement on Tuesday. He said the front office led by new general manager Ryan Poles has made take-it-or-leave-it offers since talks began in April that would be “bad for myself, and for the entire LB market if I signed it.”

Smith, the No. 8 overall draft pick in 2018, is entering the fifth and final year of his rookie contract. He was a second-team All-Pro in 2020 and 2021.

Poles said Tuesday he planned to continue working toward a contract extension rather than trade Smith.

“At the end of the day we’ve got to do what’s best for this organization,” he said. "But my intentions are to make sure Roquan Smith’s on this team.”

Poles also insisted his feelings about Smith have not changed.

“I love the kid," he said. "I love what he’s done on the field, which makes me really disappointed with where we’re at right now."

The Bears made big changes after going 6-11 last season and missing the playoffs for the ninth time in 11 years. They fired general manager Ryan Pace and coach Matt Nagy and replaced them with Poles and Matt Eberflus.

The Bears plan to use Smith as a weakside linebacker in their new 4-3 scheme. And his status was front and center at Halas Hall on Wednesday.

Teammates Robert Quinn and Darnell Mooney said they would love to have Smith on the field. But they also understand the business side.

“You see that all the time with players trying to put the heat on the organization just trying to get a deal done,” Mooney said. “It’s nothing that I can do or anything, so I’m just looking from far away.”

Quinn was with the Los Angeles Rams in 2017 when Aaron Donald staged a preseason-long holdout. The All-Pro signed a $135 million, six-year deal just before the 2018 season after holding out again.

“It’s an opportunity to take care of your family and all that good stuff, so you don’t want to sell yourself short because not a lot of people get to sign new contracts, and if you’re one of the best at your position, you want to make sure you sign a well-worth-compensated contract,” Quinn said.

“But, again, I’m not GM. I’m not Roquan. I’m not the owner. I’ve got my two cents and I’m sure no one cares about them anyway.”