Sports Consultant Weighs In On Future Of Broncos Sale

(CBS4) - While the Denver Broncos acquired Super Bowl-champion quarterback Russell Wilson Tuesday, even bigger moves are being made behind the scenes. The trade comes just over a month after the Pat Bowlen Trust announced the Denver Broncos were officially for sale.

The often-secretive process is expected to take months and result in a record-breaking sale price.

"This is a rare occurrence to have this kind of opportunity," said Marc Ganis, a sports consultant who has assisted in numerous deals involving NFL teams, including the 2018 sale of the Carolina Panthers.

The Broncos have retained boutique investment bank Allen & Company, as well as law firm Proskauer Rose LLP to help facilitate the sale process. According to Ganis, the trustees and their advisors are likely going back and forth with prospective buyers at this point. The goal is to find who's a legitimate candidate and who's not. The financial folks at Allen & Company will look at any restrictions on a candidate's source of money, how much equity must come in, how much debt is allowable at the time of sale and more, he said.

"I would expect this would be on the high end of the number of legitimate parties that are interested," Ganis said.

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From there, a small group of finalists is identified, and confidentiality agreements are signed by both sides before private financial information about the franchise is shared.

Then, an auction process for the franchise begins, and the trust has the fiduciary responsibility to pick the best and highest bid.

In 2021, Forbes valued the franchise at $3.75 billion. According to NFL rules, at least one person in the purchase group must own at least 30% of the team.
"Four or five [billion] is what my expectations are," said Ganis. "It's a very good ecosystem that somebody would be buying into, and in Denver, you have a very large geographic area with good economics."

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While having Russell Wilson behind center may excite fans, it likely won't have much impact on the sale.

"Does it make a difference in the sale price? Not likely," Ganis said. "Does it make some prospective buyers a little leery saying, 'What are they going to do now, and how are they going to restrict me?' If there are, those are people that shouldn't really be buying this team."

Still, the sale won't be final until three-fourths of current NFL owners approve. The next league meetings are scheduled for the end of the month and in May, but a special meeting can be called.

"It's conceivable it could happen by May, much more likely by the beginning of the season," Ganis said.

If fans are expecting many updates along the way, Ganis says don't hold your breath.

"I tell parties that ask me their advice, rule of thumb," Ganis said. "the less there is discussion about you in the public, the more likely you are to buy the team."