The Denver Broncos are the first NFL team to have three Black people in an ownership group.
After purchasing Denver Broncos earlier this year, The Walton-Penner group added two Black women, Mellody Hobson and Condoleezza Rice to the ownership group. Now, it has added Formula One driver Sir Lewis Hamilton
to the fold.“He is a champion competitor who knows what it takes to lead a winning team and a fierce advocate for global equality, including in his own sport,” Broncos owner-to-be, Rob Walton, said in a written statement. “With over 100 race wins, Lewis is considered the most successful F1 driver of all time. His resilient spirit and standard of excellence will be an asset to the ownership group and the Broncos organization.”
Hamilton took to his social media to let his followers know he is part of NFL history.
Newly acquired quarterback Russell Wilson posted a welcoming message to Hamilton.
Longtime Broncos owner Pat Bowlen ceded control of the team in July 2014 to Joe Ellis, the Broncos’ team president and CEO, after acknowledging he had Alzheimer’s disease. Bowlen died in 2019. The Pat Bowlen Trust took over ownership and initiated selling the team in February.
It was speculated the next owner would be Black due to recent news about how Black executives are treated in the NFL. Suitors such as Jay-Z, Byron Allen and Robert F. Smith lined up; none came close to purchasing the team.