A new era has begun in Broncos Country, as the Denver Broncos have new ownership for the first time since 1984. After an Alzheimer's diagnosis, Pat Bowlen relinquished control of the team to a trust in 2014. After that, the team didn't really have significant leadership in the building. It became very evident just how much Bowlen's presence was missed.

During Bowlen's tenure as owner, the Broncos won nine conference championships, earned 13 division titles, made seven Super Bowl appearances, and won three rings. He helped build the Broncos into one of the league's most elite franchises. He helped guide the team to the second-highest winning percentage in the NFL (.603) and the third-highest winning percentage in all of professional sports.

Initial reaction

The sale of the Broncos comes as bittersweet news to me. Bowlen's legacy will never be forgotten, and I am very happy he has been enshrined in football immortality.

On June 7th, the Broncos and the Walton-Penner group officially entered a purchase agreement. I wasn't initially rooting for the Walton-Penner group to win, but I also wasn't opposed to it happening. I knew they had the best chance at eventually acquiring the team, but I still found myself rooting for the underdogs. Since it is a group purchase, there are now multiple new people involved with the team.

Per Mike Klis of 9News Denver, Walton is the controlling owner and is in for at least $1.395 billion. This meets the NFL's minimum requirement of 30 percent of the sales price at the transaction. While Walton is the controlling owner, he most likely won't be in charge of day-to-day activities. That responsibility will fall on Greg and Carrie Penner. Carrie is Walton's daughter, and Greg is Carrie's husband (also Walton's son-in-law.) The Penners will probably be seen the most around Broncos headquarters, as they have chosen to reside in Colorado where they have two properties.

The way things are set up with “who runs what” is probably the best scenario. Before the purchase of the Broncos,  Walton didn't seem like he'd be a very hands-on owner. But that is not necessarily a bad thing. He is turning 78 this year, so it's probably best he delegates some of the owner responsibilities. Walton will most likely attend games here and there as well as occasionally stop by practice.

New stadium in the future?

One of the things that I find interesting is the new chances of the Broncos getting a new stadium after the sale. Empower Field, formerly Invesco Field and Sports Authority Field, was built in 2001. The stadium isn't necessarily old, or even falling apart. It's actually quite a nice stadium still. But NFL teams getting those “mega stadiums” seems to be a common trend lately. The Walton-Penner group could easily fund a new stadium for the Broncos, but don't expect it to be any time soon. Stadiums take years to plan and build, and again, the current Broncos stadium isn't insanely old.

Personally, I would love to see the team getting a mega stadium in the future. Colorado has some of the best weather in the country, so it would be super cool to have a retractable roof stadium for those occasionally snowy days.

The Broncos have a new star quarterback, a new coaching staff, and a new owner. There could be lots of other new, exciting things on the horizon for the team. But looking forward, there should be nothing but optimism about the future of the Broncos.