Who Owns the Denver Broncos? The Walton-Penner Group, and Who Actually Holds Control
The Denver Broncos are owned by the Walton-Penner Family Ownership Group, which bought the team for a record $4.65 billion in August 2022. Greg Penner, the team’s CEO and chair of Walmart’s board, is the NFL-designated controlling owner, a role he took over from his father-in-law, Walmart heir Rob Walton, in October 2023.
The money behind the group is Walton family wealth, but the Broncos aren’t owned by Walmart the company. Here’s who holds what, what the stake is now worth and what’s changed since the sale.
Key takeaways
Who owns the Denver Broncos today?
The ownership group has three family principals and a small set of high-profile limited partners. Exact percentages for each person have never been disclosed.
| Owner | Role | Background |
|---|---|---|
| Greg Penner | Controlling owner and CEO | Walmart board chair since 2015; married to Carrie Walton Penner |
| Carrie Walton Penner | Owner, co-runs the team with Greg | Rob Walton’s daughter |
| Rob Walton | Co-owner, led the 2022 purchase | Eldest son of Walmart founder Sam Walton; former Walmart chair |
| Mellody Hobson | Limited partner | Co-CEO of Ariel Investments |
| Condoleezza Rice | Limited partner | Former US Secretary of State |
| Lewis Hamilton | Limited partner | Seven-time Formula One world champion |
Hobson, Rice and Hamilton were named as members when the NFL approved the deal in 2022, according to CBS Colorado’s report on the vote. Their percentages weren’t disclosed, and none of them runs the team.
The Broncos’ own front-office page lists Greg Penner as owner, CEO and controlling owner of the group, and notes his seats on several NFL committees, including finance and compensation.
Legal, voting and family ownership aren’t the same thing
“Who owns the Broncos” has a few correct answers depending on what you mean.
- Legal ownership sits with the Walton-Penner Family Ownership Group, the entity the league approved in 2022.
- Control and the NFL vote belong to Greg Penner. Every NFL club must name one controlling owner who holds at least 30% of the team and represents it at league meetings.
- Day-to-day management is Greg and Carrie Penner, who have run the club since the purchase.
- Family wealth traces back to Walmart. Rob Walton led the bid, and part of his stake is being transferred to the Penners’ four children, who aren’t expected to help run the team, according to the October 2023 announcement reported by NFL.com.
The team’s only stated reason for the 2023 handover was that it fit the family’s long-term vision for the club. Our read: it’s succession planning. Rob Walton was 78 at the time, and moving the controlling designation to Penner keeps the team with the next generation without a sale.
Rob Walton, Carrie Walton Penner, Greg Penner
Owns the Denver Broncos (bought 2022 for $4.65B). Greg Penner is controlling owner. Limited partners include Hobson, Rice and Hamilton.
Greg and Carrie Penner’s family entity. Bought a reported ~40% minority stake in the Colorado Rockies in 2026. The Monfort family keeps control.
What team does Rob Walton own?
Rob Walton’s team is the Denver Broncos. He led the group that bought it from the Pat Bowlen Trust in 2022, and CBS Colorado reported at the time that his fortune, estimated near $60 billion, would make him the NFL’s richest owner.
He’s not the controlling owner anymore, but he’s still a co-owner. His fortune comes from his share of the family’s Walmart stock, which is why our breakdown of who owns Walmart is the real backstory to the Broncos sale.
How much did the Walton-Penner group pay, and what is the team worth now?
NFL owners unanimously approved the $4.65 billion purchase on August 9, 2022. At the time it was the highest price ever paid for a North American sports team, well above the $2.4 billion Steve Cohen paid for the New York Mets in 2020, as CBS Colorado reported on the day of the vote. The previous NFL record was David Tepper’s $2.275 billion for the Carolina Panthers in 2018.
The price was steep for its time. Forbes had valued the Broncos at $3.75 billion in 2021, so the Walton-Penner group paid about 24% above that estimate. Front Office Sports put the team’s 2021 revenue near $500 million, which made the deal roughly 9.3 times annual revenue.
Forbes’ September 2026 NFL valuations put the Broncos at $9.4 billion, 15th in the league. The league average was $9.5 billion, so Denver sits close to the middle despite its record purchase price.
The return on the Broncos, roughly calculated
On paper, the group has roughly doubled its money in about four years. Going from $4.65 billion in August 2022 to $9.4 billion in September 2026 is a gain of about $4.75 billion, or 102%.
That works out to roughly 19% a year, compounded. It’s a paper gain, not cash. It ignores any debt, stadium spending and operating results, and the team isn’t for sale.
The gain also isn’t unique to Denver. Forbes says the average NFL team rose 34% in value in the past year alone, driven by media rights. The Broncos benefited from timing more than from anything the owners did on the field.
Who owns Denver Broncos stock? Nobody outside the group
You can’t buy shares in the Broncos. The team is privately held by the Walton-Penner group, and there’s no Broncos stock on any exchange.
Outside investors can get in only through a narrow door. In August 2024, NFL owners voted to let a short list of approved private equity funds buy up to 10% of a team and hold it for at least six years, AFP reported. No fund stake in the Broncos has been announced.
Fans who want a piece of an NFL team have one famous option, and it isn’t in Denver. The Green Bay Packers have been a publicly owned nonprofit since 1923, but their stock pays no dividend and can only be bought during occasional offerings, according to the team.
Who owned the Broncos before the Waltons?
Pat Bowlen bought the Broncos from Edgar Kaiser in 1984 for $78 million and owned them through three Super Bowl wins. The last, Super Bowl 50 in February 2016, came against a Carolina team led by that season’s MVP, Cam Newton.
After Bowlen’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis, control passed to a trust in 2014, and he died in 2019. Years of disputes among his children over succession ended with the trust putting the team up for sale in February 2022.
The Penners’ next move: the Colorado Rockies
In April 2026, Penner Sports Group, the family entity of Greg and Carrie Penner, bought about 40% of MLB’s Colorado Rockies, the Associated Press reported. The Rockies said the deal makes it the club’s largest minority owner, while the Monfort family stays the majority owner.
The deal price wasn’t disclosed. It does show the family building a Denver sports portfolio around the Broncos. Rob Walton is also a cousin of Ann Walton Kroenke, whose husband Stan Kroenke owns the Nuggets and Avalanche, which links all four of Denver’s major pro franchises through one extended family.
If you’re comparing NFL ownership structures, the Miami Dolphins’ ownership setup is a useful contrast, with a single controlling owner and a larger roster of celebrity minority partners.
FAQ
Does Walmart own the Denver Broncos?
No. Walmart the company has no stake in the team. The Broncos are owned by members of the Walton family, whose wealth comes largely from Walmart shares, along with Greg Penner, who chairs Walmart’s board. The purchase was made with private family money, not corporate funds.
Are the Denver Broncos for sale?
No. There’s no public sign the Walton-Penner group plans to sell. The 2023 transfer of control to Greg Penner, the plan to give stakes to the Penners’ children and the 2026 Rockies investment all point to the family treating the Broncos as a long-term holding.
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