The Denver Broncos are getting new owners. The team will be sold at a reported price of $ 4.65 billion to an ownership group led by Walmart’s successor Rob Walton. The Walton-Penner family will receive an NFL franchise from the Pat Bowlen Trust, but it still needs to be approved by the NFL Finance Committee and ownership of the league before it becomes official.
The Bowlen family has owned the Broncos since 1984, when they bought the franchise for $ 78 million. Pat Bowlen died in 2019, but his trust led the franchise after his death.
If $ 4.65 billion ends up being the final number, the sale of the Broncos would set a record for the most money paid for the American sports franchise. That record currently belongs to the Brooklyn Nets, which sold for $ 2.35 billion in August 2019. As for the NFL landscape, the record was set when David Teper bought the Carolina Panthers for $ 2.275 billion in 2018.
There were several U.S. sports franchises that sold for at least $ 1.2 billion: the Toronto Maple Leafs sold for $ 1.3 billion in 2011, while the Buffalo Bills, Miami Marlins and Seattle Mariners sold for $ 1.2 billion.
However, $ 2 billion is a kind of unexplored territory. Given that the sale of the Broncos is so large, here is a look at the most expensive American sports franchises in history, which totals at least $ 2 billion.
New York Mets: $ 2.4 billion (2020)
Businessman Steve Cohen bought the New York Mets for $ 2.4 billion back in 2020. That’s the biggest money ever paid to buy a Major League baseball team since it passed the $ 2 billion Los Angeles Dodgers sale in 2012. The Wilpon family was owned by the Mets. in the previous 34 years before Cohen bought the team.
Brooklyn Nets: $ 2.35 billion (2019)
The NBA also recently set a record for the highest-selling teams in league history. Businessman Joseph Tchai owned only 49 percent of the franchise, but managed to reach an agreement with majority owner Mikhail Prokhorov on full ownership of the team. Cai originally bought his first stake in the Nets in 2017.
Carolina Panthers: $ 2.275 billion (2018)
If the sale of the Broncos ends up being $ 4.65 billion, it will easily surpass the previous record paid for the NFL franchise. Hedge fund manager David Tepper bought the Panthers from previous owner Jerry Richardson for $ 2.275 billion in 2018. Richardson was forced to sell the franchise after the league fined him nearly $ 3 million for sexual and racial behavior. Now he also owns the city’s Major League Soccer franchise, Charlotte FC.
Houston Rockets: $ 2.2 billion (2017)
Before the Nets set a new record of $ 2.35 billion, Houston businessman Tillman Fertita bought the Rockets for $ 22 billion from previous owner Leslie Alexander. Fertitta has also tried to buy NFL Houston Texas and NHL Arizona Coyotes in the past.
Los Angeles Dodgers: $ 2.15 billion (2012)
In 2012, Dodgers owners Frank and Jamie McCourt were in the midst of an ugly divorce. As a result, the family was forced to sell the $ 2 billion team to the Guggenheim Baseball Management, which included former Los Angeles Lakers star Magic Johnson. It was a record price at the time, before the Rockets surpassed that amount in 2017.
Los Angeles Clippers: $ 2 Billion (2014)
That’s right, there were a couple of high-profile sales that included professional sports teams in Los Angeles over a two-year period. The NBA forced previous owner Donald Sterling to sell the Los Angeles Clippers after he made racist comments. Sterling was fined $ 2.5 million and expelled from the NBA for life despite having to sell the team. Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer bought the Clippers for 2 billion dollars, which is a little less than the Dodgers’ record from two years earlier.