SEVEN-TIME FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPION LEWIS HAMILTON JOINS DENVER BRONCOS OWNERSHIP GROUP
The Denver Broncos announced on Tuesday that seven-time Formula One world champion, Sir Lewis Hamilton has joined their new ownership group.
The 37-year-old Hamilton joins a new contingent of owners that includes Walmart heir Rob Walton, his daughter Carrie Walton Penner, Greg Penner, co-CEO of Ariel Investments, Mellody Hobson, and former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
The Broncos released a statement from Rob Walton on behalf of the Walton-Penner Family Ownership Group that read: “We’re delighted to welcome seven-time Formula One world champion, Sir Lewis Hamilton to our ownership group. He is a champion competitor who knows what it takes to lead a winning team and a fierce advocate for global equality, including in his own sport. With over 100 race wins, Lewis is considered the most successful F1 driver of all time. His resilient spirit and standard of excellence will be an asset to the ownership group and the Broncos organization.”
Hamilton is F1’s first and only black driver and the highest-paid driver in the history of Formula One, earning a reported £40 million a year. Widely considered to be the greatest Formula One driver of all time, Hamilton holds numerous records in the sport, including the most career wins (103), most pole positions (103), most podium finishes (188), most laps led (5809), and most career points (4311.5). The Stevenage-born driver drives for Mercedes and narrowly lost what could have been a record-breaking eighth championship in the last race of the 2021 season last year to Dutch driver Max Verstappen.
Hamilton responded to the news on social media with a Broncos and fire emoji before tweeting a photo of his dog, Roscoe Hamilton, wearing a Broncos scarf and jersey. He wrote: “Excited to join an incredible group of owners and become a part of the Broncos story! Honored to work with a world-class team and serve as an example of the value of more diverse leadership across all sports. Roscoe already thinks he made the team! #LetsRide.”
The Denver Broncos entered into a purchase-sale agreement with the Walton-Penner Family Ownership Group in June for $4.65 billion, a North-American record for a sports franchise and the second-most expensive purchase in sports history. The sale is pending approval from 24 of 32 (three-quarters of) NFL owners, scheduled for the 9th of August after the NFL’s finance committee approved and unanimously recommended the league owners approve the sale to the Walton-Penner Group late last month.
Hamilton has always been looking into sports ownership and owns the X44 team that competes in the all-electric Extreme E off-road racing series. He also joined a group that was looking to buy Premier League side Chelsea Football Club in April, but the club was eventually sold to Los Angeles Dodgers co-owner, Todd Boehly.
Sir Lewis Hamilton has been close friends with Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson over the years and many people think part of Hamilton’s choice to join the Walton-Penner Ownership Group is linked with Wilson playing in Denver. Wilson and his wife, Ciara, have been to several Formula One Races over the last four to five years, including Montreal in 2018 and Monaco in 2022, and are usually typically hosted by Hamilton and the Mercedes F1 team. Hamilton also owns property in Aspen, Colorado (150 miles from Denver) which he uses as his winter off-season retreat for his training program.
Wilson reacted to the news by tweeting Lewis Hamilton, saying: “Congrats, Lewis Hamilton! Winning is a habit! #LetsRide.”
The Broncos have been one of the NFL’s most successful franchises in the Super Bowl era, winning three Super Bowls during Pat Bowlen’s ownership tenure, with the latest coming in 2016, and now have the richest ownership group in pro football.
“Not just myself and coach [Nathaniel] Hackett, but the entire organization is really excited for the ownership group,” Broncos general manager George Paton said last month. “It is a dynamic ownership group – [they’re] accomplished, incredibly accomplished, intelligent and thoughtful leadership. They’re going to help with the culture here, and we just can’t wait to get them here. I’ve had a few conversations with them, and one thing I know is they’re all about winning. They want to win the right way. They’re going to set a winning culture, and they will set the tone.”
-Maher Abucheri
Twitter: @pabloikonyero
Photo: Morio. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.