Billionaire Robert F. Smith could be making history in the near future.
According to Bleacher Report, the Denver Broncos could be up for sale in the NFL offseason. If indeed, the Broncos go up for sale, Smith has expressed an interest in bidding on the team. The Broncos are reportedly worth $3.75 billion.
“If Denver is put up for sale, it will likely be through an auction because it is under the Patrick D. Bowlen Trust,” reports the outlet, who added that the sale of the team would benefit the seven Bowlen children. What’s more, the outlet confirms that as part of the deal with the trust, the beneficiaries of the trust would have to honor the highest bid for the team.
“If the team is put up for sale, a legal source familiar with the Broncos’ ownership transition told 9News that it would likely be through auction because the team is under the Patrick D. Bowlen Trust umbrella,” Denver’s 9News reported. “This means the trustees would have a fiduciary responsibility to the trust’s beneficiaries (the seven Bowlen children, and Pat’s brother John) to go with the highest bidder, pending approval from 24 of the NFL’s 32 owners.”
Who will be the next owner of the Denver Broncos?
Previously, AfroTech reported that Jay-Z expressed an interest in purchasing the Broncos. However, in order for Jay-Z to successfully complete the sale, he would need to get help from Amazon top dog Jeff Bezos, in a deal similar to the one that Alex Rodriguez made with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
With an estimated net worth of more than $6 billion, Robert F. Smith is definitely in a position to purchase the team. But there’s just one possible snag: in order for the sale to go through, the purchase has to be approved by 24 of the 32 team owners in the NFL.
If Smith successfully bids on the Broncos, he would become the first Black owner of an NFL team in the sport’s 101-year history.
Robert F. Smith: His Net Worth
As AfroTech previously reported, Robert F. Smith has an estimated net worth of more than $6 billion. He first made headlines when he wiped out the entire student debt for the 2019 graduating class at Morehouse College. He earns his wealth as founder and CEO of Vista Equity Partners, a U.S.-based investment firm with offices in Austin, Chicago, New York City, Oakland, and San Francisco. In 2017, Forbes named Smith one of the 100 greatest living business minds and in 2018, Smith surpassed Oprah Winfrey as the wealthiest African American in the country.
