Walmart Billionaire Rob Walton Expected to Bid $4B for Denver Broncos

Walmart billionaire Rob Walton is likely to try and buy the Denver Broncos, now being the favorite for the bid, according to a Friday (April 8) New York Post report.

This comes as the NFL is reportedly trying to instead court Robert F. Smith, the U.S.’s richest African-American resident.

Walton is worth over $70 billion and was expected to submit a Broncos bid on Friday for over $4 billion, which would be the biggest price ever paid for a pro sports team. The NY Post wrote last month that Walton was in the running to buy the Broncos.

The Broncos had set Friday as the deadline for the opening bids, only accepting offers over $4 billion.

According to the report, Smith had been courted “aggressively” by the NFL, particularly as the league has faced criticisms over race relations. For instance, in February, ex-Miami Dolphins Coach Brian Flores filed a lawsuit against the NFL, comparing it to a “plantation” because 70% of the players are Black but none of the owners are.

While efforts have reportedly been made to woo Smith into a buy, it’s not clear if he even intends to submit an offer.

Meanwhile, hedge-fund billionaire David Tepper paid a record price of $2.2 billion for the Carolina Panthers in 2018, which Chinese eCommerce mogul Joe Tsai then beat in 2019 with his $2.3 billion purchase of the NBA Brooklyn Nets.

PYMNTS wrote that, in other NFL news, ESPN plans to put out non-fungible tokens (NFTs), including one of Tom Brady. The effort also plans to collaborate with Autograph, the Web3 company Brady created.

Read more: Tom Brady Featured in ESPN’s First NFT

The NFTs are for sale on the DraftKings marketplace. Brady had recently come out of retirement, which he announced in February and then took back a month later.

Even before the retirement announcement, Brady had already been involved with several businesses over the years.

In March, PYMNTS wrote that Brady was planning to use his name for a number of products like meal kits and deodorant. He had reportedly filed 26 applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.