Media mogul Byron Allen says he’ll bid for NFL’s Denver Broncos

(HOLLYWOOD, CA) Sports News: (Article By Ken Brooks) Media mogul Byron Allen is preparing a bid for the Denver Broncos, a move that if successful 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.

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 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 past 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. We truly hope everything work’s out for Mr Allen.