The battle over permanent ownership of the National Football League’s Denver Broncos appears to be coming to an end, as President and CEO Joe Ellis confirmed on Tuesday that the trust that runs the franchise will begin a transition in early 2022, with new ownership in place by the 2022 regular season.
The team has been run by Ellis since 2014, when then-owner Pat Bowlen, in the early stages of Alzheimer’s Disease, stepped away from the day-to-day duties of running the franchise. The elder Bowlen has passed away, leaving potential ownership of the $3.2 billion dollar operation to 31-year old Brittany Bowlen, the daughter of the late owner, a billionaire the likes of Jeff Bezos, The Denver Broncos should have a new owner by this time next year, whether that’s Brittany Bowlen or a billionaire like Jeff Bezos. It is believed that from Pat Bowlen’s children, Brittany is the preferred choice to run the franchise. However, a decision by the Bowlen family to sell the franchise also remains a possibility.
Arapahoe County District Judge John E. Scipione granted a motion earlier this month to dismiss a lawsuit filed by two of the late owner’s daughters from his first marriage. All sides in the dispute are prohibited from discussing the matter.
Amie Bowlen Klemmer and Beth Bowlen Wallace had alleged their father was already affected by Alzheimer’s and was subject to “undue influence” in setting up the three-person trust that has run the team since he stepped away in 2014. Bowlen died in 2019, a month shy of his Hall of Fame induction.
