Broncos Worth Likely To Soar After Seahawks Sale

Owning a sports franchise is close to a license to print money these days, especially in the NFL, and one of the reasons owners love it when other franchises are sold is that it drives up the value of their respective teams. 

That’s definitely the case for the Denver Broncos, who could eventually benefit exponentially from the recent sale of the Seattle Seahawks for a reported $9.6 billion, according to Luca Evans of the Denver Post. 

“When a franchise sells, it really kind of resets the market almost instantly for all the other markets,” said Patrick Rishe, a sports expert who is a former Forbes contributor and the director of the sports business program at Washington University in St. Louis.

The numbers stand out starkly when you put them side by side. According the initial ESPN report, the Seahawks were bought by a group led by venture capitalist Vinod Khosla for a league-record-setting $9.6 billion, a number longtime sports-valuation expert Drew Dormeiler said that number was likely inflated due to “competitive bidding.”

It’s also more than double the number the Broncos sold for just four years ago, Evans added, as the Walton-Penner ownership group bought the Broncos for a then-record$4.65 billion. Moreover, the Broncos’ value could rise into the top third in the league if the owners are able to comlete their plan to build a mixed-use stadium district at Burnham Yards. 

“The math on that is, what something is worth is what someone’s willing to pay,” Rishe said. “And the Broncos aren’t going to go on the market anytime soon, obviously. But I would say that it’s safe to say that the team’s new franchise value at this particular moment, is going to be pretty close to 9.6 billion, because they were viewed in the marketplace as being comparable in terms of market size and brand strength relative to the Seahawks.” 

The interesting coincidence that goes with this is that the Broncos and Seahawks were ranked 13th and 14th in value last year, according to Forbes, but that number will go way up, Rishe added.

“For the Seahawks to sell for 9.6 billion,” Rishe said, “this immediately skyrockets the Broncos’ franchise value compared to the estimate Forbes produced last year.” 

Owner Greg Penner commented about all this last year as he talked about the expectations.

“Expectations have just changed over the past 10 to 15 years, with these newer stadiums that have been built,” Broncos owner Greg Penner said in September in the team’s preferred-site announcement. We’ll be able to provide all those things as well, from different types of seating — GA, premier, clubs, great (food and beverage). It will have all the bells and whistles.”