Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (pictured) will join the Denver Broncos ownership group, which is led by Walmart heir Rob Walton. File Photo by Pat Benic/UPI |
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July 11 (UPI) -- Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice joined the new ownership for the Denver Broncos, the NFL franchise announced Monday.
Former Walmart Chairman Rob Walton, the leader of the Walton-Penner family ownership group, announced the move in a news release.
"We're pleased to welcome former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to our ownership group," Walton said. "A highly respected public servant, accomplished academic and corporate leader, secretary Rice is well known as a passionate and knowledgeable football fan who has worked to make the sport stronger and better.
"She is the daughter of a football coach and served on the inaugural College Football Playoff Committee. She moved to Denver with her family when she was 12 years old and went on to attend the University of Denver for both college and graduate school.
"Her unique experience and extraordinary judgment will be a great benefit to our group and the Broncos organization."
Rice, 67, made history as the United States' first Black secretary of state from 2005 to 2009 under former President George W. Bush.
She also served as national security advisor from 2001 to 2005. She was the first woman to hold that role.
The Broncos announced last month that they entered into a purchase and sale agreement with the Walton-Penner family ownership group.
Sources told ESPN, NFL Network and the Wall Street Journal that the winning bid from the group was for $4.65 billion, the most-expense price in North American sports franchise history.
That sale is pending a formal vote by the NFL's other team owners.
The Broncos' new ownership group also includes Walton's daughter, Carrie Walton Penner, her husband, Greg Penner, and Mellody Hobson. Hobson, co-CEO of Ariel Investments, is chairwoman of the board at Starbucks and a director at JP Morgan Chase.
The Pat Bowlen Trust announced in February that it planned to sell the AFC West franchise. Bowlen and his siblings bought the Broncos in 1984. He later acquired his family's stakes in the team. Bowlen died in 2019.
Rob Walton, the eldest son of Walmart founder Sam Walton, is one of the richest people in the world, with an estimated net worth of nearly $60 billion, according to Forbes.