Greg Penner and Carrie Walton Penner finalized the purchase of a 40% stake in the Colorado Rockies on Friday, adding a second major sports asset to an ownership group that already controls the Denver Broncos. The deal was completed through their family entity, Penner Sports Group.
The Penners are not expected to take day-to-day roles with the Rockies, according to sources familiar with the arrangement. But the size of the purchase underscores how far their reach has grown as the Broncos approach five years under their ownership and as the family becomes a stronger force in the NFL and in Colorado.
That rise has been visible across the Broncos operation. Greg Penner is the Broncos CEO, Damani Leech is the team president, and the franchise is nearing completion of a new $175 million headquarters. The Penners are set to move into that building in June, while the team continues to push ahead on a Burnham Yard stadium project that is expected to stretch another five-plus years if it follows the preferred timeline.
The timing also keeps the Rockies deal from interrupting the Broncos' current football calendar. A couple of weeks ago, Sean Payton and George Paton discussed the acquisition of Jaylen Waddle, the decision to move Jonah Elliss to inside linebacker and the upcoming draft at the NFL spring owners meetings in Phoenix. Later this month, the Penners will be in the draft room all three days, and the team is likely to work out a contract extension with Paton in the coming months.
The broader picture is one of expansion, not distraction. The Penners already serve on seven NFL ownership committees, with Carrie Walton Penner on the health and safety, diversity and NFL foundation committees and Greg Penner on the labor, compensation, ownership policy and finance committees. The Broncos also run an $8 million All In. All Covered. high school helmet program, another sign that the family’s influence now reaches well beyond the team they bought nearly five years ago.
After a decade of malaise in Denver following Super Bowl 50, the Broncos have become part of a larger ownership portfolio that now includes a stake in the Rockies. For Colorado sports, the message is clear: the Penners are not stepping back from football. They are building around it.
