Photo courtesy of Instagram.
Media mogul Byron Allen is adding NFL owner to his list of accomplishments. Allen is on track to become the first Black owner of an NFL team as he gets ready to bid on the Denver Broncos.
Allen released a statement confirming his intention to purchase the Denver Broncos.
“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 wrote. “And after serious consideration, I strongly believe I can help effectuate positive changes throughout the league. And for that reason, I will be making a bid for the Denver Broncos.”
The cost of buying the NFL team could cost Allen’s investment group between $3 billion to $4 billion. The investment group is most likely to include business investors and investors from Hollywood, the sports world and Wall Street.
The 60-year-old Allen got his start on The Tonight Show, Starring Johnny Carson, before becoming a television producer. He founded Allen Media in 1993 and recently purchased 27 local network stations throughout the country.
Allen has had virtual meetings about the bid and the logistics behind becoming the first Black owner of an NFL team with the NFL and the Broncos since 2019 in preparation for the transition. There has been no owner of the Broncos since the death of owner Pat Bowlen in 2019. The team has been managed by the Pat Bowlen Trust, Vice President and General Counsel Rich Slivka, lawyer Mary Kelly and team CEO Joe Ellis.
Denver Mayor Michael Hancock said that settling the team’s ownership is critical.
“Settling the ownership situation is critical to getting the organization’s attention focused back to where it needs to be,” he said. “Which is fielding a successful and competitive football team that all of Broncos Country can continue to be proud of.”
Allen also owns several properties. The mogul owns a $27 million Aspen chalet in Colorado and a $26.75 million Manhattan apartment on Central Park South.