Tag: Ownership

ESPN’s Adam Schefter doesn’t expect Chargers to pursue Sean Payton

ESPN’s Adam Schefter doesn’t expect the Chargers to pursue Sean Payton. The foremost NFL splash reporter doesn’t believe L.A. will do what’s needed to chase him:

Here’s a splash of cold water from Adam Schefter. ESPN’s foremost Sunday morning splash reporter addressed the elephant in the room following the Los Angeles Chargers’ stunning playoff loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Saturday night — with former New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton having made no secret of his interest in their head coach job over the last year, it’s been widely expected that the Chargers would dismiss second-year coach Brandon Staley and pursuit the Super Bowl XLIV winner.

But Schefter suggested that Chargers ownership isn’t willing to spend what it would take to recruit Payton.

“It’s hard to see this franchise, with its history, being as aggressive as it would need to be to go get Sean Payton, as much he might be able to help that franchise,” Schefter said Sunday. “I don’t know how realistic that is.”

The team is owned by the unpopular Spanos family, who abandoned an established fanbase in San Diego to relocate their franchise to Los Angeles in a cost-saving move, partnering with the Rams in building SoFi Stadium. Staley is one of the lowest-paid head coaches around the league at about $4 million per year, and the Chargers are one of the few teams to still bicker with drafted rookies over contract language after recent collective bargaining agreements made such signings a paint-by-numbers process.

In other words, the Chargers are too tightfisted to pay Payton like one of the NFL’s highest-paid coaches at around $20 million per year. That’s in addition to the draft capital going to New Orleans in a potential trade for Payton’s coaching rights. So, based off what Schefter is hearing and looking at their past decisions, it doesn’t look like Chargers management will act as aggressively to pursue Payton as everyone from their team’s fans to maybe Payton himself hope them to.

Instead, Schefter says, expect the Chargers to make some minor coaching staff changes like hiring a new coordinator or two and shuffling the position coaches. That might be enough to get them back to the playoffs in 2023 but it’s hardly the blockbuster upgrade many observers are looking for.

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Kam Chancellor interested in buying Seahawks: ‘Let’s make some history’

However, it seems that a certain former Seahawk wishes to be involved in the process.

Speculation over the future of the Seattle Seahawks has been rife in recent weeks and not just in regards to the product on the field. 

With reports floating around that the team could be sold, a few potential buyers could be in the market. However, it seems that a certain former Seahawk wishes to be involved in the process.

Kam Chancellor is one of the most beloved players in franchise history and one of the greatest strong safeties to ever lace them up. However, the idea of him currently being the sole owner of an NFL team is a pipe dream because he is not a billionaire, even though he has no financial concerns and will not for a long time, having made tens of millions as a player with the Seahawks.

It would be intriguing to see Chancellor involved in team operations in some capacity and it is pleasing to see that he cares about the organization’s long-term stability and is willing to put himself in a position to achieve it.

The future of team ownership is up in the air for now and things could be settled very soon, so we will just have to wait and see.

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Legal battle won, Broncos can now move toward sale

The Broncos are now one step closer to likely being sold.

Story update: A Denver judge has ruled that ROFR Holdings Ltd.’s “right of first refusal is no longer valid or enforceable in any respect,” according to KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis. That has cleared the final roadblock for the Broncos to potentially move toward a sale. See our original post below.

The Denver Broncos are expected to be sold this spring, but an ongoing legal dispute has seemingly slowed down the process.

In his end-of-season press conference on Sunday, Broncos president/CEO Joe Ellis said he can’t provide an update on the team’s ownership situation until the legal matter is resolved.

“I think most of you are familiar of the fact that we are in a trial — a case in the hands of the court and the right of first refusal case — between Edgar Kaiser and Pat Bowlen,” Ellis said. “Out of respect for the court, I’m going to wait and get back to you at a later date on that …. I want the court to be able to let its process see through to the end.

“From there, I’ll be able to get back to you and let you know where things stand. I don’t have a timeline on that, but I just want to respect the court and let the judge decide what decision will be rendered at what time. It’s certainly her decision.”

ROFR Holdings Ltd. claims to have the right of first refusal passed down from Kaiser, who sold the team to Bowlen in 1984. The Broncos argue that the ROFR agreement between Bowlen and Kaiser is no longer valid because both men have since died. Now the court has to decide.

In the meantime, a potential sale remains on hold.

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Peyton Manning, John Elway linked to Broncos in ownership buzz

If the Broncos are sold, John Elway and Peyton Manning are both expected to have interest in joining a potential ownership group.

If the Denver Broncos do not remain in the family of late owner Pat Bowlen, a sale could happen as early as 2022.

If the Broncos do hit the market, the team will undoubtedly draw plenty of suitors, with two former quarterbacks potentially among them.

Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reported Sunday that Peyton Manning has “had contact with potential ownership groups to glean how he might be able to have a role both as a potential minority investor as well as perhaps with the management of the team.”

Shortly after that CBS report emerged, KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis reported that John Elway also “has interest in being part of [an] ownership group if the team should be put up for sale.”

Of course, this interest will only become relevant if the team is put on the market, and that hasn’t happened — yet.

Forbes recently estimated that the Broncos are worth $3.75 billion. Neither Manning nor Elway would be able to afford that kind of price tag on their own, but either one of them could be the face of an ownership group with multiple investors.

It remains to be seen if Manning and Elway would be willing to combine to form one ownership group bid. Otherwise, the Hall of Fame quarterbacks might be headed for a bidding war between themselves.

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Forbes: Broncos are 11th-most valuable team in the NFL

The Broncos are worth $3 billion, making them the 11th-most valuable franchise in the NFL.

The Denver Broncos are the 25th-most valuable sports team in the world and the 11th-most valuable NFL team, according to a 2020 estimate from Forbes. The franchise moved up one spot in the world ranking from last year (No. 26) but Denver kept its No. 11 ranking among NFL clubs.

Forbes estimates that the Broncos are worth $3 billion, a notable increase from their valuation of $2.65 billion in 2019. Denver is the most valuable team in the AFC West, above the Las Vegas Raiders ($2.9 billion), Los Angeles Chargers ($2.5 billion) and Kansas City Chiefs ($2.3 billion).

Forbes says the Dallas Cowboys are the most valuable sports team in the world, worth $5.5 billion. MLB’s New York Yankees ($5 billion) and the NBA’s New York Knicks ($4.6 billion) are Nos. 2-3 on the list.

Late Broncos owner Pat Bowlen purchased the team for $78 million in 1984. Right now, the team is under the control of the Pat Bowlen Trust. Brittany Bowlen, one of Pat’s daughters, appears to be the frontrunner to become the next controlling owner.

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Running an NFL team as a co-owner might be Peyton Manning’s next move

Peyton Manning might become a general manager/partial owner of an NFL team in the future.

In a feature story about Peyton Manning published this week, Bleacher Report’s Kalyn Kahler reported that the former quarterback wants to “run a team with an ownership stake,” citing three unnamed sources.

Manning has received plenty of interest from television networks who want him to call NFL games and there have been rumors about teams gauging Manning’s interest in potentially joining a team as an executive.

Manning might end up becoming a commentator or general manager/partial owner at some point but right now, he’s in no rush to make a decision about his future.

Manning told Kahler that working for a team’s front office is “just not something that I have moved on yet.” That could — and probably will — change in the future, but fans shouldn’t expect Manning to take over a team anytime soon.

Manning has ruled out the possibility of coaching and he’s turned down multiple TV offers. Running a team might be Manning’s next job but it’s unclear how long it will be until that happens — the right opportunity has to become available and Manning has to feel ready to accept it.

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Roger Goodell comments on Broncos’ ownership situation

“For us, we want to make sure that his wishes are followed,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said.

During the Broncos’ end-of-season press conference, president/CEO Joe Ellis indicated that if beneficiaries would not sign off on Brittany Bowlen eventually becoming the team’s next controlling owner, the franchise might be sold to a new owner outside of Pat Bowlen’s family.

Bowlen died last June after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. The team is now under control of the trust that he set up in his name. Bowlen tasked the trust with passing down ownership of the team to one of his children when a qualified candidate emerged.

During his media availability on Wednesday, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell was asked about the possibility of the Broncos being sold.

“It starts with what Pat Bowlen’s wishes were,” Goodell said, via The Athletic’s Nicki Jhabvala. “He established the trust to make sure there was an orderly transition of the franchise if something should happen to him. Unfortunately, that did, and Pat wanted to make sure the franchise was in good hands, in good management.”

Goodell didn’t have much new information to offer but he reiterated that the league aims to follow Bowlen’s plan.

“He wants his franchise, the Denver Broncos, to continue to have that success, and that’s why he set up the trust the way he did. For us, we want to make sure that his wishes are followed. I don’t think he’d be happy about the public disputes that are going on.”

The main dispute comes from Beth and Amie, two of Bowlen’s daughters, who are attempting to have the Pat Bowlen Trust removed from power through a lawsuit. The trust has previously said that Beth is not qualified or ready to take over as owner. Her sister, Brittany, is the most likely candidate to become the next owner.

“Unity is something that I think as an organization in the NFL, you have one person who makes a decision on behalf of an ownership group,” Goodell said. “That’s a vital and principal point in our ownership policy, and that is what Pat understood, he wanted that, and we need to have that in the case of all franchises. So that, at some point in time, will have to develop in the context of the Broncos.”

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Joe Ellis says Broncos being sold ‘remains a possibility’

If Pat Bowlen’s children can’t come to agreement, the Broncos might be sold.

Brittany Bowlen has returned to the Broncos a vice president of strategic initiatives and she is being groomed to eventually replace her late father, Pat, as the team’s next controlling owner.

The transition won’t happen smoothly — and it might not happen at all. Beth and Amie, two of Bowlen’s other daughters, are attempting to have the Pat Bowlen Trust removed from power through a lawsuit. The trust was tasked by Bowlen to pass on ownership of the team to one of his children when a candidate was deemed ready to take over and the trust has seemingly decided on Brittany but not all of her siblings agree with the decision.

If the family can’t come to an agreement, selling the team will be among the trust’s options.

“It is an option and we’ve told the beneficiaries that because if Brittany were to succeed and take over for her father, everybody else is going to have to sign off on that, most likely,” Broncos president and CEO Joe Ellis said Monday. “That may not be a requirement, but it’s going to be necessary, I think, moving forward from a trustee viewpoint. That’s why a sale remains a possibility, I think, given the circumstances we’re in.”

The situation probably won’t be resolved anytime soon.

Ellis continues to support Brittany as a potential future owner.

“She’s got a really good future ahead of her, whether she succeeds he father or not,” Ellis said. “She’s very comfortable in her own skin, very confident, very intelligent and hardworking, unassuming and not trying to have the Bowlen name get her anything in particular.

“As I said, she’s really integrated herself well here in the first month and I’ve had a lot of people come up to me and tell me that.”

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