The trustees running the Broncos have long been believed to be leaning strongly toward making Brittany Bowlen the next owner of the team. For now, Brittany Bowlen has received a promotion.
Via Ben Fischer of Sports Business Journal, Brittany Bowlen’s title had changed V.P. of Strategic Initiatives to Senior V.P. of Strategy. New duties come with the new job; she’ll lead senior staff meetings, she’ll have offices at both the team’s headquarters and at the stadium, and she’ll report directly to CEO Joe Ellis, one of the three trustees who will select the next owner.
“It means a lot,” Brittany Bowlen said, via Fischer. “I love this job. This is what I’ve been working toward for 15 years, and I’m working to earn it, and I think to get this promotion is part of that recognition from Joe, who has put a lot of trust in me, and I really appreciate that trust, and I’m excited to continue to see where this journey takes me.”
As Fischer correctly notes, the journey may not take Brittany Bowlen to the seat of team ownership. Apart from a pending legal challenge to the trust that two of her siblings are pursuing, the seven Bowlen children ultimately must be on the same page (or at least close to it) to allow the trustees’ appointment to become effective within the eyes of the league. Thus, the prevailing thought continues to be that, unless the reluctant family members can be bought out by the rest, the team eventually will be sold.
Time can be both a good thing, and a bad thing, as this drama plays out. Franchise values are expected to skyrocket as legalized gambling becomes more prevalent, with some believing that the baseline value for a given NFL franchise will fall in the range of $8 billion to $10 billion. That will make it harder for some siblings to buy the interest held by those who want out. However, if/when the team is sold on the open market, it will result in all siblings making a whole lot of money.