The Denver Broncos continue to have no specific owner, as trustees carrying out the wishes of the late Pat Bowlen wait to anoint one of his children as the person in charge of the team. One of his children, Beth Bowlen Wallace, believes the time has come for the status quo to change.
“My sister Amie, my uncle John Bowlen and I have had the privilege, along with all fans that bleed orange and blue, of seeing what a winning team looks like,” Wallace said in a statement issued on Wednesday. “Watching these past few seasons has been extremely painful and we continue to see no other way to restore the franchise for our fans but through a transition of ownership of the Denver Broncos.
“My father Pat Bowlen would never have accepted the team’s current state. Fortunately, my father’s legacy as one of the NFL’s greatest owners has been solidified at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton. We will forever reflect on the over 30 years of ownership that got him there with great pride. Our desire is for this team to be restored to its winning ways and to see more Super Bowl championships for Broncos Country. We have been committed to and will continue to pursue resolutions on all issues in order to ensure a smooth and timely transition.
“We are hopeful that the current leadership agrees that this is in the best interests of the Denver Broncos and most importantly, it is in the best interests of our incredibly loyal fans, my father’s legacy and the Bowlen family.”
Wallace has pending litigation aimed at dismantling the trust. Presumably, she’d like to serve as the controlling owner.
Regardless of whether the trust does or doesn’t finish its work in identifying and appointing a successor to Bowlen from his family of seven children, a transition of ownership via a sale of the team may be inevitable. The NFL recently beefed up the penalties for teams that don’t have an owner with the minimum percentage of ownership and final say over all franchise matters. Last year, Broncos CEO Joe Ellis acknowledged that, if the seven children can’t agree to permanently delegate power over the team to one person, the team will have to be sold.
It’s indeed starting to feel like the team eventually will be sold.