Black NFL team ownership could finally become a reality this year courtesy of the Denver Broncos.
When the franchise went up for sale, team connected names such as John Elway, Peyton Manning and Brittany Bowlen, daughter of late team owner Bill Bowlen, surfaced immediately.
But two other names emerged that stirred a different type of excitement.
Billionaire business owner Robert F. Smith and media mogul Byron Allen.
Smith, 59, is the founder of Vista Equity Partners, an $86 billion global technology investment firm. He’s also a Denver native and the richest Black man in America, with an estimated worth of $6.7 billion.
Allen, 60, is the Founder and CEO of Entertainment Studios. He’s a producer, show host, owner of multiple TV stations and media properties including the Weather Channel and The Grio, and has an estimated net worth of $450 million.
The addition of two of the wealthiest Black men in America to the list of suitors immediately garnered attention outside of the NFL community.
Yet team ownership for Black individuals and people of color is not a foreign concept by any means.
Giannis Antetokounmpo purchased a stake in the Milwaukee Brewers last August and Valerie Daniels-Carter is both a minority owner of the Milwaukee Bucks and sits on the Board of Directors of the Green Bay Packers.
In MLS, there is a slew of minority investors including Kevin Garnett, James Harden, Ciara and Russell Wilson, Magic Johson and rapper Yo Gotti.
As for team owners, Shad Khan owns the Jacksonville Jaguars, Kim Pegula is co-owner of both the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres and Arte Moreno is the owner of the Los Angeles Angels.
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