The intra-family Willie Wonka competition that will determine control of the Denver Broncos could be moving closer and closer to completion.
29-year-old Brittany Bowlen, the daughter of Broncos owner Pat Bowlen, has emerged as the favorite to run the franchise. She confirmed on Tuesday that she’ll return to the team later this year.
"[W]e talked about coming to work for the Broncos at some point and I look forward to that,” Brittany Bowlen said, according to Mike Klis of 9News.com.
Team president/CEO Joe Ellis said last month that Brittany Bowlen will assume a “senior management position” in the Broncos’ front office “within the year.” Klis pegs October as the likely target, given that September 12 will mark the one-year anniversary of her tenure with McKinsey & Co., and in light of the fact that she’s due to get married that month.
Brittany Bowlen has an undergraduate degree from Notre Dame, and an MBA from Duke. She has spent two years at the league office and one year with the Broncos.
Pat Bowlen transferred control of the team to the three-person trust while fighting Alzheimer’s disease. Ellis and two others will determine if, and when, one of Bowlen’s children will be ready to assume the day-to-day responsibility for the team.
The process has spawned litigation among family members, rooted in the efforts of Beth Bowlen Wallace to take charge of the team. The matter has been referred to arbitration, and the NFL has appointed Carmen Policy to handle it.
Despite these entanglements, it’s widely believed that the trustees will remain in place, and that they eventually will select Brittany Bowlen as the next owner of the team.
