Robert F. Smith “has emerged as one of the possible bidders” to buy the Denver Broncos this offseason, according to Michael McCarthy and A.J. Perez of FrontOfficeSports.com.
Smith, 59, was born and grew up in Denver before going on to earn his bachelor’s from Cornell University and master’s from Columbia University. He now serves as the Chairman & CEO of Vista Equity Partners and owns homes in Texas, California, New York, Florida and Colorado.
The Broncos are expected to be sold this year in an auction-style sale that would award the franchise to the highest bidder. The team is worth $3.75 billion — according to an estimate from Forbes — but the club could go for more than $4 billion in a bidding scenario.
Smith as an estimated net worth of $6.7 billion, according to Forbes.
The businessman is also a philanthropist, notably donating $34 million to pay the student loan debts of 400 Morehouse graduates and their parents in 2019.
If he does bid to buy the Broncos, Smith would need approval from 75% of NFL owners for a potential purchase to be completed. One potential factor that might be considered in such a vote is Smith’s history with federal authorities, according to Front Office Sports:
After a lengthy investigation, Smith entered into a non-prosecution agreement with the Department of Justice in October 2020 that spared him criminal charges over allegations that he did not report $200 million of income to the IRS and used bank accounts in the British Virgin Islands and Switzerland to conceal assets.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and rapper/businessman Jay-Z have also been linked to the Broncos, but Peter King of NBC Sports reported last October that Bezos is not interested in buying the team.
Former quarterbacks John Elway and Peyton Manning, who both won Super Bowls in Denver, are interested in joining the next potential ownership group as minority owners.
The Broncos will make an announcement on their ownership plan (presumably an announcement of going up for sale) after the team hires a new head coach.
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