The Denver Broncos have reached an agreement with a buyer and are set to change hands for a record sum of 4.65 billion dollars.

Cologne (SID) – The Denver Broncos of the US professional football league NFL have reached an agreement with a buyer and are set to change hands for a record sum of 4.65 billion dollars (around 4.35 billion euros), according to media reports. A group around Rob Walton, heir to the Walmart supermarket chain, wants to take over the franchise from the Pat Bowlen Trust Fund.

Never before has a franchise in North America been sold for such a high price. The NFL Finance Committee still has to agree, as do at least 24 of the 32 club owners. “Today is a significant step towards an exciting new chapter in the Broncos’ history,” said Joe Ellis, the club’s general manager. In addition to billionaire Walton (77), the consortium includes his daughter Carrie Walton Penner and her husband Greg Penner.

The Carolina Panthers had gone to hedge fund manager David Tepper in 2018 for a previous NFL record price of $2.3 billion. The current highest sum was achieved by the New York Mets from Major League Baseball (MLB) in 2020, US entrepreneur Steven Cohen paid 2.475 billion dollars for the takeover two years ago.