Allen Media Group/Entertainment Studios chief Byron Allen is preparing a bid to buy the NFL’s Denver Broncos, Allen confirmed to TheWrap on Tuesday.
In a statement to Bloomberg, Allen, founder, CEO and chairman of Allen Media Group, said he is seriously contemplating the bid. If successful, the move would make Allen the first Black majority owner of an NFL team. “NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft came to me in November 2019 and asked me to take a good look at buying an NFL team,” Allen said in the statement, given in response to inquiries about his interest in the Broncos.
Added Allen in the statement: “And after serious consideration, I strongly believe I can effectuate positive changes throughout the league. And for that reason, I will be making a bid for the Denver Broncos.”
The NFL has not commented publicly about Allen’s potential bid.
Reached by TheWrap after his media statement went public, Allen said he believes having a Black owner in the NFL is “good for the league, and good for the country,” and will bring a voice into NFL leadership “that hasn’t been there before.” He said his planned timing is in sync with the Broncos’ publicly stated goal of having the team sold by the beginning of the new season. He added that his media savvy is a good fit for helping a team maximize the important relationship between media and sports.
Detroit native Allen launched his entertainment career as a comedian on NBC’s “Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. He became a TV producer and later founded Allen Media, which includes the Weather Channel and numerous local network stations.
Allen has recently been a proponent of the concept of “super-hyper-local” news and entertainment with Local Now, a streaming service that mixes “super-hyper-local” news with premium content — and offers it for free.
“Free is everybody’s favorite price,” Allen, the founder, chairman and CEO of Local Now parent company Allen Media Group, told TheWrap in an interview last year.
“Free” is unlikely to be the price tag for investing in the Broncos. Earlier this month, The Broncos announced that the losing NFL franchise was officially up for sale, and ESPN predicted that the team would likely have “the biggest price tag in North American sports history.” The team is valued at just under $4 billion.