Report: Rob Walton Expected to Purchase Broncos for 'About' $4.5 Billion
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The long saga of Denver Broncos ownership appears to be coming to an end in the very near future, according to a report from Forbes.
Rob Walton, an heir to the Walmart fortune, will win the bidding for the Denver Broncos at about $4.5 billion, several sports bankers told Forbes. The winning bid is expected to be announced as early as this month. - Forbes on Twitter
Relatively late to the process, Walton was immediately considered the favorite to buy the Broncos because of his vast superiority in net worth. Walton has an estimated net worth of roughly $60 billion, per the Bloomberg Billionaire Index.
The second round of bids is due later this afternoon, and the Broncos are trying to cool speculation that the process is over.
After the Forbes report, word was quickly sent through Adam Schefter that the process isn't over.
The $4 billion number had been talked about all winter and spring as a starting point for the sale of the Broncos. Four-and-a-half billion dollars would smash the US Sports Franchise record for a sale set by the Brooklyn Nets in 2017 of "just" $2.35 million.
The world record for a sports franchise was set earlier this month when a Todd Boehly-led consortium purchased London-based Chelsea Football Club for roughly $5.3 billion.
Boehly was also in the running for the Broncos, though he was never considered one of the favorites, all but removed from consideration once his deal for Chelsea was approved by the UK government.
