Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
The Broncos’ season is over. Here’s a look back at what went wrong (and right) last season.
The Denver Broncos finished the 2022 campaign with a win over the playoff-bound Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, capping a 5-12 season.
We will take a look at two studs from the game, as well as a studs-and-duds seasonal recap.
Broncos owners paid $400,000 to replace the grass field at Empower Field at Mile High for the team’s season finale.
After harsh weather and multiple high school football games, the playing surface at Empower Field at Mile High looked worn down as the Denver Broncos approached Sunday’s season finale.
So team co-owner/CEO Greg Penner had a new grass field installed at a cost of roughly $400,000, according to a report from KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis.
The new sod will be used for just one NFL game — after a busy summer schedule of concerts and Supercross motorcycle events, the Broncos will resod the field again before the 2023 season.
The team shared video on social media showing the process of the grass being replaced in time for the season finale.
Fresh field for our final game. đź‘Ź
We’ve replaced the turf at @EmpowerField ahead of #LACvsDEN to ensure the best possible playing surface. pic.twitter.com/9Ka9Gs7fgN
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) January 7, 2023
The Broncos also outlined the “3” at the 30-yard line in Buffalo Bills red to show support for recovering safety Damar Hamlin.
#ForDamar pic.twitter.com/LxMTuYMliW
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) January 7, 2023
After hosting the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, the Broncos will turn attention toward their head coaching search and the offseason. Denver has received permission from the Saints to interview Sean Payton, and the team has also shown interest in Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh.
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The Broncos believe Russell Wilson’s tenure in Denver can be salvaged.
Russell Wilson has had a season to forget.
In his first year with the Denver Broncos, Wilson has a career-high 10 losses, and even if the Broncos win their final two games of the season, Wilson would finish with a career-low five wins.
Wilson would need to throw four touchdown passes in each of the team’s final two games just to match his career-low for TD passes in a season (20), and he is just two interceptions away from tying the second-most he’s ever thrown in a season (11).
Wilson has been sacked 49 times this year in 13 games. His career-high was 51 sacks during a 16-game season in 2018.
Not all of the blame for Wilson’s struggles falls on him, but there’s no question that the quarterback needs to improve if he’s going to keep the starting job beyond 2022.
“The decision to have Russell here was a long-term one,” Broncos co-owner/CEO Greg Penner said Tuesday. “This season has not been up to his standards or expectations. We saw some glimpses of it in the last few weeks.
“He knows he can play better. We know he can play better, and we know he will do the right work in the offseason to be ready for next year.”
Because of his large salary cap hits, it would be hard for Denver to part ways with Wilson before 2024. In the meantime, the team’s next coach will be tasked with getting the best out of their expensive quarterback.
“It’s not just one player,” insisted general manager George Paton. “It’s not whether Russ is fixable or not, but we do believe he is. We do.”
Time will tell if that belief is warranted.
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When the upgrades are complete, the Broncos will have the fourth-largest single scoreboard in the NFL.
With a record $100M in upgrades, a new & improved @EmpowerField coming 🔜
“This demonstrates the deep commitment by the Walton-Penner Family Ownership Group to immediately and continually provide the best possible experience for our fans."
More info » https://t.co/x2OCYkVE6K pic.twitter.com/oWvzmDlgmb
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) December 14, 2022
Following the Walton-Penner ownership group’s acquisition of the Denver Broncos in June 2022, rumors of a new stadium have run rampant across the Denver metro area.
That might happen down the road, but the team’s new ownership group is first focused on upgrading the team’s current stadium. The Broncos announced this week that the team is making more than $100 million worth of upgrades to Empower Field at Mile High.
The upgrades will include, per a press release:
“This significant investment in Empower Field at Mile High — the largest in the stadium’s history — demonstrates the deep commitment by the Walton-Penner Family Ownership Group to immediately and continually provide the best possible experience for our fans,” Broncos president Damani Leech said.
On Wednesday, NFL owners voted in approval of a G-4 financing loan for the team to begin the upgrades.
The south stands scoreboard expansion will arguably be the largest project. By the end of its completion, it will be the fourth-largest single scoreboard inside an NFL stadium. All upgrades will begin after the 2022 season ends, and be completed before the 2023 season commences.
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“Our organization is fully committed to winning and competing for Super Bowls with Russell [Wilson] as a Bronco for many years to come.”
The Denver Broncos have agreed to terms on a new five-year contract with quarterback Russell Wilson, the team announced Thursday.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed by the team, but multiple outlets have reported that the five-year extension is worth $245 million. After the team announced the deal on Thursday afternoon, general manager George Paton and owner/CEO Greg Penner both released statements on the contract.
“The Broncos are the one sports franchise that we would have considered buying,” Rob Walton said.
Earlier this month, a group led by Walmart heir Rob Walton completed a $4.65 billion purchase of the Denver Broncos.
The team was put up for sale earlier this year, but Walton and his son-in-law, Greg Penner, had been eyeing them up for a decade. At the time, the team wasn’t for sale. There were opportunities to buy other sports teams over the last decade, but Walton and Penner remained focused on the Broncos.
“We contemplated the idea of other sports franchise but if we were going to do something, this was going to be it,” Penner said at an introductory press conference on Aug. 10. “We live and work in Colorado. The NFL is just an incredible platform and the Broncos with what they mean to this region and the success that they have had. If we were going to buy any team, this was the team.”
The group had to be patient, but when the opportunity did arise to buy the team, they acted quickly.
“The Broncos are the one sports franchise that we would have considered buying,” Walton said on Aug. 9. “Greg, as he mentioned, started a conversation some 10 years ago about it. Then the team actually announced it was for sale early this year, and we got in the middle of it first thing.
“We had been talking about it, and we have connections. Greg and Carrie live in Colorado, and I’ve been going to Colorado and have had a home there for long, long time. [I have] other family members there. [It’s] a great connection for us, and we’re really, really excited about it. It’s a terrific team and terrific fan base.”
The team’s new ownership group has plenty of resources to pour into the team, but they’ll take a hands off approach with roster decisions. Walton is the majority owner but Penner, the new CEO, will handle the team’s day-to-day ownership duties. Penner will allow general manager George Paton to run football operations, which is a smart decision.
Penner will handle the business side while Paton handles the football side, a partnership that fans in Denver hope will lead to on-field success.
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Denver’s new ownership group won’t interfere with football decisions, allowing Broncos GM George Paton to manage the roster.
The Denver Broncos have a new ownership group with Walmart heir Rob Walton serving as the majority owner and Greg Penner stepping into chief executive officer duties as a co-owner.
The ownership group will have the final say on everything, but they’ll focus primarily on the business side of the team. Walton won’t become the new Jerry Jones — Denver’s ownership group doesn’t plan to interfere with the team’s roster decisions.
“We’re big believers in empowering people,” Penner said last week. “We love football … but we’re not going to be calling plays. We’re not going to be drafting players. We’re going to empower this team led by George Paton and Nathaniel Hackett to make those key decisions. Obviously, part of this fun is learning and understanding and all of that but we’re going to be [making the football decisions]. They’re going to make the football decisions.”
Paton will still be in charge of the team’s roster decisions and the owners will aim to give him the resources required to compete for titles. That certainly sounds like a recipe for success.
“The big vision is that we want to win football championships,” Penner said. “We want to do it in the right way. The first place you have to start is with the people. And on the football side, we couldn’t be more excited about what we have, with George, Nathaniel, Russell [Wilson] in place.”
It seems that Walton will have a pretty hands-off approach, with Penner handling the day-to-day duties while serving as the face of the ownership group. Walton is ultimately the controlling owner, though, and he has one goal in mind.
“Our number one priority is putting a winning team on the field to win Super Bowls for Broncos Country,” Walton said.
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Broncos have ‘no immediate plans’ to add Peyton Manning or John Elway to their new ownership group.
The Denver Broncos’ new ownership group led by Rob Walton, Greg Penner and Carrie Penner has added three minority investors: Mellody Hobson, Condoleezza Rice and Lewis Hamilton.
Two other high-profile candidates are believed to be interested in joining the team’s ownership group, but Penner said Wednesday that nothing is imminent.
“At this point, we don’t have anything to add or share on that,” Penner said when asked about potential additions to the ownership group. “No immediate plans.”
John Elway has publicly stated that he would be interested in joining ownership, but he remains an outside consultant. ESPN reported in June that Peyton Manning was a candidate to join the team in an advisor role that could eventually lead to “equity in the franchise.”
Neither Elway or Manning are set to join ownership, though, at least not right now, but both former quarterbacks remain closely connected to the team.
“We are in a terrific position of having two great Broncos, they were both out here [at practice] today, and it’s been fantastic to spend some time with them,” Penner said Wednesday. “John Elway is the ultimate Bronco. He won championships as both a player and an executive. I have had a chance to visit with him and look forward to learning as much from him as possible.
“Peyton is one of the greatest NFL players of all time — obviously, won a championship here. We have had a chance to get to know him through the process as well. We are just going to learn from both of them. I think it is going to be a really good relationship.”
Regardless of whether or not they get official titles, it seems clear that both Elway and Manning aim to help the team any way they can going forward.
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Joe Ellis stepped down from his role as Broncos president/CEO. Greg Penner will serve as the new owner/CEO and Damani Leech will become the new president.
When late former Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen stepped down from his day-to-day duties in 2014 due to his battle with Alzheimer’s disease, team president/chief executive officer Joe Ellis became the team’s de facto owner.
Ellis was part of Bowlen’s trust that was set up to manage the team until a new owner was established. Following the sale of the team to a group led by Walmart heir Rob Walton, Ellis’ time running the club has come to an end.
“As I step down as President & CEO, it has been the honor and privilege of a lifetime to be part of the Denver Broncos for 27 seasons,” Ellis said in a statement. “I am forever thankful to our dedicated staff, the players and coaches for making this franchise what it has become today — one of the best organizations in all of sports.”
Ellis will serve as an advisor for the team’s new ownership group this season, but the the Broncos are filling his two former titles with new executives.
Walton is the team’s majority owner but his son-in-law, Greg Penner, will handle day-to-day ownership duties as the team’s new CEO. Penner is essentially the new Ellis, the executive tasked with running the club.
To fill Ellis former title of team president, Denver hired Damani Leech. He will be responsible for managing the team’s business operations. Broncos general manager George Paton will continue to run the football operations.
A new era in Denver begins now.
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Broncos ownership gave no update on Russell Wilson’s contract status, but the team knows that “it’s critical to have a great quarterback in this league.”
The Denver Broncos’ new ownership group led by Walmart heir Rob Walton became official earlier this week, making Walton the wealthiest owner in the NFL.
With money to spend, one of the first priorities of the new ownership group should be to give star quarterback Russell Wilson a contract extension.
Broncos general manager George Paton acquired Wilson via trade before the new owners arrived. Now they will be responsible for approving a new deal to keep the QB in Denver well beyond the 2023 season.
Greg Penner, the team’s co-owner and CEO, was asked about Wilson’s contract status during his introductory press conference Wednesday.
“At this point, nothing to say about his contract,” Penner said.
The team’s new day-to-day owner did have plenty of praise for the quarterback, though, seemingly implying an extension will get done.
“We couldn’t have been more excited as we were going through the process to see that the organization had made the trade for Russell,” Penner said. “It’s critical to have a great quarterback in this league and coming in this organization with Russellin place is a tremendous benefit for us.
“On our first diligence trip in May here, one of the first people we ran into the hallway when Rob, Carrie [Penner], and I were here was Russell. Right away, we got a sense of how positive he is as a leader. He is just such a dynamic individual. I can’t wait to see him on the field. I don’t know how much we will see of him on the field on Saturday, but we are looking forward to it.”
Wilson will presumably be seeking a contract somewhere in the range of $50 million per season, but the Broncos would like to keep details of extension talks in-house. Fans in Denver might not hear much about a new contract for Wilson until it becomes official.
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