Denver Broncos Pick Walton-Penner Family in Auction to Sell Team

That restriction is unlikely to restrict Rob Walton, Greg Penner and their households. Walton, 77, is the oldest youngster of Helen and Sam Walton, the co-founder of Walmart. Rob Walton was chairman of Walmart from 1992 to 2015. His cousin is Ann Walton, the niece of Sam Walton and the spouse of E. Stanley Kroenke, who owns the Los Angeles Rams of the N.F.L., the Denver Nuggets of the N.B.A., the Colorado Avalanche of the N.H.L. and Arsenal F.C. in the Premier League, amongst different groups.

Penner married Rob Walton’s daughter, Carrie, and has been Walmart’s chairman since 2015.

The Walton-Penner bid, if accepted, would finish practically 4 a long time of possession by the Bowlen household. The Broncos joined the A.F.L. in 1960 and have been dismal on the sphere for his or her first decade and a half, although they have been fashionable with followers in the Rocky Mountain states. But after Bowlen purchased the membership in 1984, the Broncos had 21 successful seasons, 13 division titles, 9 convention championship berths and 7 Super Bowl appearances.

His reminiscence failing, Bowlen stepped away from working the crew in 2014, and left a number of trustees, together with Ellis, to oversee the franchise. The trustees have been tasked with deciding which of his kids ought to turn into the controlling proprietor — or whether or not the franchise ought to be offered, in the event that they believed that was in the household’s finest curiosity.

Beth Bowlen, Bowlen’s second daughter from his first marriage, labored on the membership and was changing into the principal proprietor. But she left the crew a number of years in the past.

Brittany Bowlen, a daughter from Bowlen’s second marriage, was being tabbed as a possible substitute. All seven Bowlen kids couldn’t attain an settlement on who ought to take cost, so the crew was put up for public sale.

Now it’s one other household, this time with even deeper pockets, that’s probably to take over.