Condoleezza Rice is 'Honored' to Become Part-Owner of Broncos
The full embracing of diversity is coming to define a new era of ownership the Denver Broncos are constructing. On Monday, former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was officially announced as being part of the Walton-Penner ownership group in Denver.
In quick succession, the Broncos have gone from being the first NFL franchise to have a Black woman as a part-owner, with the involvement of Mellody Hobson, to doubling that number with Rice jumping on board.
Following the announcement, Rice took to Facebook to express her excitement in forming part of the diverse and exciting new ownership group in the Mile High City.
“It’s an honor to be part of this ownership group,” Rice said. “Football has been an integral part of my life since the moment it was introduced to me, and I am thrilled to be a part of the Broncos organization today. I spent much of my younger years in Denver, so to be able to combine my love of the game with my love for this great city and team is an adventure of a lifetime and a great opportunity.”
Some serious big hitters are now sitting around the table to forge a new future for a team that hasn't made the playoffs since 2015 when the Broncos won Super Bowl 50. Creating a diverse collection of talented individuals bears all the hallmarks of smart thinking, and the former diplomat, the Broncos will get a football devotee with close personal links to Denver.
Rice has always been closely associated with the game and the former University of Denver alumni once famously nearly broke the internet after NFL insider Adam Schefter suggested the Cleveland Browns might interview her about their coaching vacancy. Schefter later cleared up the matter by admitting some wires got crossed back in 2018, and the Browns just wanted to pick her brains in more general terms.
“They just wanted to get ideas. It wasn’t like they were hiring Condoleezza Rice,” Schefter retrospectively clarified in 2020. “Condoleezza Rice was a person they were interested in talking to, getting her perspective.”
Despite the viral story's lack of veracity, Rice has always displayed a deep affinity towards her childhood team, the Browns. As a youngster, in 1963, she even ripped her team posters off the walls of her bedroom when the team fired Paul Brown as head coach.
Setting her fandom to one side, Rice was also quick to distance herself from any of ESPN’s suggestions that she was looking to coach the Browns when the story broke.
“I love my Browns – and I know they will hire an experienced coach to take us to the next level,” Rice said via her Facebook account in 2018. “On a more serious note, I do hope that the NFL will start to bring women into the coaching profession as position coaches and eventually coordinators and head coaches. One doesn’t have to play the game to understand it and motivate players.”
Her father's history as a football coach has clearly rubbed off on Rice, and she has also gained valuable sports ownership experience via her equity investment partnership with the WNBA.
Rice pivoting to support a new, ascending team like the Broncos as part-owner shouldn't present any insurmountable obstacles for the 67-year-old former diplomat.
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