The Denver Broncos’ (pending) new ownership group continues to grow.
The team announced Monday that Condoleezza Rice is joining the ownership group as a minority investor. The club released the following statement on behalf of the Walton-Penner ownership group:
We’re pleased to welcome former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to our ownership group. A highly respected public servant, accomplished academic and corporate leader, Secretary Rice is well known as a passionate and knowledgeable football fan who has worked to make sport stronger and better.
She is the daughter of a football coach and served on the inaugural College Football Playoff Committee. She moved to Denver with her family when she was 12 years old and went on to attend the University of Denver for both college and graduate school. Her unique experience and extraordinary judgment will be a great benefit to our group and the Broncos organization.
As the team’s statement noted, Rice has a strong connection to Denver and she’s a huge football fan. Rice was even linked to the head coach job with the Cleveland Browns in 2018, although she denied the reports that she was a candidate for that job.
Rich is the second Black woman to join the team’s ownership group, joining accomplished businesswoman Mellody Hobson.
The Walton-Penner group has not yet officially purchased the team — the sale has to be approved by at least 24 of the league’s 32 ownership groups — but that approval is expected to arrive later this summer. In the meantime, the ownership group could continue to grow, and Peyton Manning is a candidate to join the team in an advisory role.
The Broncos are aiming to have the new ownership group approved before the NFL’s regular season begins in September.
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