Byron Allen says he’s preparing bid for NFL’s Denver Broncos

Media mogul Byron Allen is preparing a bid for the Denver Broncos, a move that would make him the first Black majority owner of a National Football League team.

“NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft came to me in November of 2019 and asked me to take a good look at buying an NFL team,” Allen, chairman and chief executive officer at Allen Media Group, said in a statement in response to inquiries about his interest in the Broncos.

“And after serious consideration, I strongly believe I can help effectuate positive changes throughout the league,” Allen said in a statement. “And for that reason, I will be making a bid for the Denver Broncos.”

Both Allen and the Broncos are working with bankers, with the football team choosing the boutique investment bank Allen & Co., to facilitate a transaction, according to a person familiar with the situation. The investor group led by Allen could pay $3 billion to $4 billion for the Broncos, the person said, asking not to be identified because the information was private.

» READ MORE: Comcast has reached a deal to carry Byron Allen’s channels, ending a racial-discrimination case

Allen’s group is expected to include investors from Wall Street, Hollywood, sports and business, the person said. The group would put down roughly 75% of the price in liquid assets, the person said. To date, the NFL has required a principal franchise owner to have a stake of at least 30%.

Since the possibility of Allen’s buying a team was raised in 2019, he has held numerous virtual meetings with the NFL, Kraft and the Broncos organization, the person added.

Representatives for the NFL, Kraft, the Broncos and Allen & Co. didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for Allen Media declined to comment beyond the statement.

With fewer than a dozen sales of a National Football League franchise over the last two decades, the opportunity to own the Broncos provides a rare opportunity to enter an elite club. The billionaire founder of Vista Equity Partners — and Denver native — Robert F. Smith was earlier touted as a potential bidder, but a person familiar with the matter said that pursuing ownership of the Broncos isn’t on Smith’s radar right now.

Allen, 60, is also a Detroit native who came to prominence as a comedian appearing on NBC’s Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. He went on to become a television producer and later founded Allen Media, which consists of the Weather Channel and about $1 billion invested recently to acquire 27 local network stations.

In January, Allen signed a multi-platform partnership with Google. He also has bid for the regional television operator Tegna Inc.; acquisition talks are still ongoing.

If Allen were successful, it could be seen as a lift for the NFL, which has been beset by controversies involving race and social justice.

The league’s most notable reputational hit began in 2016 when then-San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick led what became a series of protests against police brutality and racial inequality. Kaepernick has since been unable to find a place on the roster of an NFL team despite having led the 49ers to a Super Bowl in 2013.

This month, former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores sued the league, alleging racial discrimination in its hiring practices. The NFL has said the allegations are “without merit.”

As a television station owner, Allen has waged high-profile battles vying for economic inclusion against some of the biggest advertisers in the world, including McDonald’s Corp. and General Motors Co., alleging discrimination against Black-owned media outlets. Owning an NFL team would thrust him into a business that makes the most-watched and biggest ad-supported broadcasts in the country.

Allen and Philadelphia-based media giant Comcast Corp. in 2020 settled a suit that had him alleging racism over the cable company’s not running his TV channels in its cable bundles. Comcast, which denied the allegations, gave access for some of his cable channels. The case had reached the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Broncos began playing in 1960 as an original franchise in the American Football League and joined the NFL when the two merged in 1970. This month, the Broncos announced the franchise, which finished the season with seven wins and 10 losses, was up for sale at the start of February.

The sale announcement followed a protracted court battle between family members of Pat Bowlen, who bought the team in 1984 and died in 2019.

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock has said a swift sale of the team by the Bowlen family would be best for all. “Settling the ownership situation is critical to getting the organization’s attention focused back to where it needs to be, which is fielding a successful and competitive football team that all of Broncos Country can continue to be proud of,” Hancock said in a statement.

Allen, who owns 100% of Allen Media, has used high-yield debt to build his television empire. Last year, he borrowed more than $500 million to acquire stations from Gray Television Inc.

In addition to his Beverly Hills mansion, Allen has bought several trophy properties across the U.S., including a chalet in Aspen, Colo., for $27 million, an apartment at 220 Central Park South in Manhattan for $26.75 million, and an oceanfront home in Maui for about $23 million.