Is The Denver Broncos Business Worth More Than Four Billion Dollars?

The first round of bidding closes this week.

Just how much money is the Denver National Football League franchise worth? The Broncos business operates in a midsize market with a two decades old stadium. The NFL will find out very soon as bids to buy the team are due. Whoever is interested in buying the Denver Broncos business better have some serious cash. It will take more than a $4 billion bid to get the franchise. The Denver business is the first NFL franchise to be on the market since 2017. Carolina owner Jerry Richardson ran into problems when he was accused of sexual misconduct and uttering a racial slur about a scout. Richardson announced he would step aside and sell the business in December of 2017. David Tepper purchased the franchise for $2.2 billion six months later. In 1993, Richardson and his partners paid $140 million for the right to own an expansion franchise in Charlotte, North Carolina. The NFL expanded by two markets that year. Jacksonville, Florida backers also paid $140 million. The two franchises hit the field in 1995.

The cost of an NFL franchise quickly accelerated after that. In 1998, Al Lerner paid $530 million for the Cleveland expansion franchise. Jimmy Haslam would buy the Cleveland franchise in 2012 for $1.58 billion. The first billion-dollar transaction was in 2009 when Stephen Ross paid a little more than a billion dollars buying Wayne Huizenga’s Miami Dolphins business. There were a number of people who expressed an interest in the Broncos business. The rumor mill has Walmart co-owner Rob Walton, who is the son of one of Walmart’s founders Sam Walton, as a bidder. NFL teams are profitable thanks to numerous revenue streams. The bidders think the business is worth more than $4 billion.

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Denver Broncos running back Melvin Gordon III (25) loses a fumble after being hit by Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Melvin Ingram, right, before outside linebacker Nick Bolton (54) returned it for a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game Saturday, Jan. 8, 2022, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)