Quick bit: The Denver Broncos could be changing ownership in the near future — and it’s a jolt that they’ve needed for a long time.

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The Denver Broncos could be changing ownership in the near future — and it’s a jolt that they’ve needed for a long time.

The Broncos essentially eliminated their chances at a playoff berth with yet another dumbfounding loss in Week 15. This time around, the Broncos lost to the Cincinnati Bengals — who they’re competing with for a playoff berth — while displaying the same old product we’ve seen for the last few years from this once-proud franchise.

More bad quarterback play. More bad coaching. Lack of creativity on offense. Most importantly, the Broncos are just a bad and boring product.

Just prior to the Broncos’ latest humbling loss, it was reported by CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora that the franchise could be preparing for a sale to be completed as soon as the spring.

One of the more notable storylines from the piece is the involvement of Peyton Manning — former Broncos quarterback and Super Bowl 50 champion — who could be a minority shareholder or interested in a management position.

Via La Canfora:

“Sources said former Broncos star quarterback Peyton Manning, who is very interested in a potential ownership piece in the franchise and a possible role in serving in a management position as well, has already had discussions with several of the groups expected to be favorites to land the team, and his strong ties to Denver, where his family has lived since his playing days, and universal respect throughout the football world, would be a boon to any potential ownership group aligned with him.”

La Canfora also notes that the Broncos could set an NFL record during its sale, which could approach $3 billion. For comparison’s sake, the Carolina Panthers were sold to David Tepper back in 2018 for $2.3 billion.

“Several sources said that, barring something totally unforeseen, a new owner of the Broncos would be fully on board by the October ownership meetings next year. Once this transaction takes place, it will help set a benchmark that other franchises will eclipse — Seattle, for instance — and ownership sources said if it approaches $3 billion it could spur other owners in some more metropolitan locales to begin to float their potential interest to sell as well in the near future.”

The reasons for the increase in value are rather simple — the NFL has since signed a new CBA contract for 10 years, gambling revenue is now in play and ratings are dominating the television landscape.

While that’s interesting in itself from a financial standpoint, the important part of an eventual Broncos sale is the potential resurrection of a once-proud franchise.

This is a team that was considered the standard for winning across three decades during the late great Pat Bowlen’s ownership. After Bowlen bought the team in 1984, the Broncos advanced to seven Super Bowls and won three of them.

In fact, from 1984 until 2016, the Broncos had just four losing seasons. In the four full seasons since, they’ve had a losing record every year. Denver hasn’t made the playoffs since winning Super Bowl 50.

Bowlen stepped down from his post as Broncos CEO in 2014 due to the onset of Alzheimer’s Disease before sadly succumbing to the illness in 2019. Since Bowlen took a step back from the Broncos, the franchise has been in disarray.

It’s one thing to be a bad franchise. But it’s a whole another thing to be a bad franchise that is simply boring. Denver’s offense hasn’t finished above 19th in scoring since 2015. Despite a defense that ranks N0. 2 in points allowed — they allowed 15 or less points for the eighth time this season versus the Bengals, most in the NFL — the team is mired in mediocrity at 7-7.

Blame Vic Fangio for not being equipped to be a head coach. Blame Pat Shurmur for his unimaginative offensive play-calling despite a ridiculously stacked offensive cast of players. Blame Teddy Bridgewater and Drew Lock for cautious and turnover-prone style of quarterback play.

This was once a franchise that was a shoe-in to be on national television every year and almost a guarantee to post a winning record. A franchise that once featured noteworthy, must-watch players such as John Elway, Terrell Davis, Shannon Sharpe and Manning himself.

Now, this is a team that can’t stop stumbling over themselves. It’s a team that’s such a bad product that it’s not even worth watching.

Sure, Manning may not have any true management experience in the NFL. And he doesn’t have any ownership experience in football either.

But it can’t get any worse than what’s it been for the past six years. The Broncos are in desperate need of stability. Bringing back the leader of the last great era of the franchise may be the key to bringing Denver back to relevancy.

And Manning may be the only one that can provide that for a once-great franchise.

Originally found on Forbes Read More