In June, the Broncos were bought for $4.65 billion by the Walter-Penner family, the heirs of Walmart. During an ownership change, the new owners spend time getting their team together. NFL teams have a lot of facets to them and owners need highly skilled people to take on day-to-day operations. The Broncos have found one of those highly skilled people. Today, they announced that former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice would be added to the ownership group.
Rice’s Credentials
Condoleezza Rice is the daughter of a football coach and was on the inaugural College Football Playoff Committee. She was also long rumored to be in the head coaching mix for the Cleveland Browns a couple of years ago. She moved to Denver when she was 12 years old and went on to attend the University of Denver for both her undergrad and graduate school. Rice also dated a Bronco in the 1970s Rick Upchurch while she was working on her doctorate. Her love for football is well known and she is well respected in the football community.
Outside of football, most people know her for her work under the George W. Bush administration. She was Bush’s National Security Advisor from 2001-2005 and then became his Secretary of State for the final four years of his presidency.
Why Bring Rice On?
Her credentials are top notch. Rice brings high intelligence to a Broncos that few can match. While I have never been the Secretary of State, I imagine that one has to make many high pressure decisions and know how to handle that pressure. Rice will be able to bring a high IQ to the day-to-day operations of the Broncos. One other aspect of this hire is her connections in the political world. These connections could prove useful for the Broncos as often the sports world and the political world cross paths at some point during business. The Broncos have high hopes for this season and this is yet another reason to be excited.
A Win For Diversity
Diversity in the front offices and ownership has been a goal for the NFL for years now. Unfortunately, they have not been doing a good job at it. Bringing Condoleezza Rice, a Black women, into a role for an NFL front office is a huge win. And this is no token diversity hire. Rice has the resume. She will be a key player in the new ownership group and hopefully pave the way for more women and minorities to find their way into NFL front offices.
