Jhabvala’s headling sounds a bit ominous: “Three of Pat Bowlen’s children no longer working for Broncos“. However, in my opinion I see a glimmer of optimism in her report.
For starters, given the domestic violence problems that John Bowlen has had, this is an appropriate statement:
According to a Broncos spokesperson, he is not with the team, and is pursuing other opportunities.
However, this paragraph is what encourages me the most:
Brittany Bowlen, 26, will begin working toward a master’s in business administration at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business this fall after spending 10 months as a business analyst in the Broncos’ finance department. Brittany received a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Notre Dame in 2013 and spent the next two years in a junior rotational program with the NFL.
Owning and operating a professional sports team is, by definition, a business. While it remains to be seen whether or not Brittany Bowlen would be interested in putting an MBA degree to use for the Broncos, as I see it so far she is compiling an impressive record of work in that direction. In an ideal world, Joe Ellis and John Elway would continue to run the ship in Pat Bowlen’s twilight years, with Brittany Bowlen steadily taking on more responsibilities as an heir apparent to becoming a controlling owner, with guidance from Ellis and Elway where needed.
However, the danger that remains is that with a total of seven Bowlen children, the Broncos could be ripe for a hostile takeover if enough of the children were to sell to a consortium interested in the team. One would hope that if none of the Bowlen children were deemed able to keep the team when needed, that a new ownership group would feature Elway as the headliner. But that, of course, is far from guaranteed.
Jason La Canfora has reported “concerns” about the future ownership of the Broncos before, and this is something I too will be quite concerned about (and not forget) unless and until more clarity comes to the situation. I’ve spoken before on how success in professional sports starts with the owner, and the wrong person in charge at the top could end excellent stewardship of a franchise. Redskins fans know that all too well.