The Denver Broncos are big business in Denver.
The team’s $4.65 billion sale in 2022 to a group headed by Rob Walton and Greg Penner set an NFL record. According to Forbes, the team generated more than $563 million in revenue in 2022. The Denver Broncos Foundation donated over $5 million to area charities in 2023. And when the snow falls during televised home games, Colorado’s ski resorts rejoice and book reservations.
So it’s no surprise that the team’s players, coaches and management dominate the real estate market, snapping up high-priced properties in some of the metro area’s most exclusive neighborhoods.
While the old guard and upper management tend to prefer traditional old-money spots like Cherry Hills Village, Belcaro, Observatory Park and Polo Club, the team’s youngsters are heading south to Castle Rock, Parker and Lone Tree.
The young guns
Bo Nix, a new Broncos quarterback, and his wife, Izzy, bought a $4 million, 6,551-square-foot home in a gated community in Castle Rock in June from Shane Patrick-Henry Vereen, a former NFL running back who played for the New England Patriots and New York Giants.
Property highlights:
Large dining room opening to an outdoor kitchen
15-foot NanaWall sliding doors off the great room onto the covered deck
Primary suite with a gas fireplace, an en suite bathroom with heated floors, and a closet connected to the laundry room
Wine room
Theater room
Four-car garage
Golf cart bay
Nix signed a four-year deal worth $18.6 million plus a $10.4 million signing bonus. His contract includes an option for a fifth year.
Courtland Sutton, a wide receiver the team selected in the second round of the 2018 NFL draft, spent $1.9 million in January 2022 to buy a 6,861-square-foot-mansion overlooking the 12th hole at The Club at Pradera in Parker.
The contemporary custom ranch features a stacking glass door to the balcony, which showcases eastern views of the golf course. The four-bedroom, five-bath home also includes a 1,700-square-foot golf simulator room.
After a contract dispute, Sutton received $1.5 million in achievable incentives. This year, Sutton has a $13 million base salary and can earn up to $500,000 in per-game roster bonuses and $100,000 in other bonuses.
Brandon McManus, the Broncos’ former kicker, and his wife, Nadia, sold their 7,189-square-foot mansion in Lone Tree for $3.2 million in June. They bought the six-bedroom, seven-bath home built by Celebrity Homes in October 2021 for $2.5 million.
Property highlights:
Outdoors: pool, cabana, sunroom with a kitchen, covered patio, and two outdoor fireplaces
Primary suite with a fireplace and private deck
Chef’s kitchen with an oversized island and three ovens
Four ensuite bedrooms
Finished basement with a Pilates room, wet bar, guest suite, and activity room with a ping pong table
McManus, who played with the Broncos for nearly a decade, was the last Super Bowl 50-winning team member when he was released in May 2023.
He signed a one-year deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars and later joined the Washington Commanders but was released after facing sexual assault allegations, which McManus denies.
The old guard
Former quarterbackRussell Wilson and his wife, singer-songwriter Ciara, set a metro record when they spent $25 million on a 20,060-square-foot mansion in Cherry Hills Village. The couple bought the home in April 2022 after the Seattle Seahawks traded Wilson to the Broncos.
The two-story mansion features four bedrooms, 12 bathrooms, his-and-hers walk-in closets, offices, bathroom suites, a guest apartment, a basketball court, and an indoor swimming pool.
Wilson sold the mansion for a $3.5 million loss to Cherry Park LLC in March after being cut by the Broncos and signing a one-year deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Retired Super Bowl-champ quarterback Peyton Manning owns two Cherry Hills Village homes.
After signing with the Broncos in 2012, he bought his family a $4.6 million, 16,000-square-foot home on 3.37 acres. The mansion has seven bathrooms, separate media and billiard rooms, a safe room, and an elevator.
Last fall, Manning spent $5 million to buy a 3,582-square-foot home near his mansion. A source close to Manning said he considers the purchase a business transaction and does not plan to move into the house or tear it down to build a mega-mansion.
Former Broncos linebacker Von Miller has battled the man who bought his 19,000-square-foot mansion on 4.3 acres near the team’s headquarters in Foxfield.
After Miller bought the four-bedroom, five-bath home for $925,000 in 2012, he built an addition that connects to the original home. The addition has three bedrooms, five baths, a cigar lounge, a gym with separate hot and cold contrast tubs, a steam room, and an eight-car garage with space for an RV.
Miller listed the nine-bedroom, 15-bath mansion for $4.1 million in May 2022 and sold it for $3.7 million that November. The buyer financed the purchase with a $3 million loan from Miller.
The buyer, who was supposed to secure a new loan within a year, failed to do so and failed to make his agreed-upon monthly payments. He complained about problems with the mansion’s smart home system.
Miller filed to foreclose on the property in September 2023 but dropped that action in February after the men modified the loan agreement.
The new owner listed the home for rent for $40,000 a month.
Miller, who played for the Broncos from 2011 to 2021 and holds the team’s career sacks record, was named the Super Bowl 50 MVP. After he was traded to the Los Angeles Rams, Miller won another Super Bowl ring in 2022. Later that year, he signed a six-year, $120 million deal with the Buffalo Bills.
Former Broncos quarterback Brian Griese is trying to sell his 8,000-square-foot Denver mansion.
Griese and his wife, Brook, bought the six-bedroom, nine-bath home on a half-acre in September 2009 for $3.2 million.
The Grieses listed it for $8.8 million last September. They’ve subsequently lowered the price to $6.9 million.
The Broncos drafted Griese in 1998, and he became their starting quarterback in 1999 after John Elway retired. After the Broncos released him in 2002, Griese played for the Dolphins, Buccaneers and Bears before retiring in 2009. He joined ESPN as a football analyst and became a “Monday Night Football” commentator in 2020. He left the program in March 2022 to become the San Francisco 49ers quarterbacks coach.
Retired running back Terrell Davis and his wife, Tamiko, spent $3.3 million last August to buy a 7,000-square-foot mansion in Cherry Hills Village.
The six-bedroom, eight-bath home, built in 2004, includes a chef’s kitchen, an elegant dining room, and a music room. The second floor boasts a primary suite with a steam shower and three additional bedrooms with en suite. The home also has five fireplaces, two staircases, and three patio areas, including one with a fireplace.
Davis, who won Super Bowl rings with the Broncos in 1998 and 1999, was the 1998 Super Bowl MVP and is the Broncos’ all-team leading rusher. Davis retired before the 2002 season due to injuries. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2017.
Davis, whomoved his family to Denver in September 2022after a long broadcasting career, is theco-founder of Defy, a sports nutrition company, and apartner at Alpha 1 Tax & Wealth, experts who provide wealth management and retirement planning services.
He also participated in theunsuccessful bid to buy the Denver Broncosled by private equity billionaire Josh Harris.
Upper management
Broncos team president Damani Leech spent $4 million for a Cape-Cod style home in Observatory Park in November 2022.
The home features five bedrooms with en suites, a kitchen with Antolini Azerocare white Carrara marble countertops, and three fireplaces.
Before joining the team, Leech spent nearly seven years with the NFL, including over two years as the chief operating officer of NFL International. He also worked for 17 years with the NCAA, including two years as the managing director of championships.
Head coach Sean Payton spent $4.6 million to buy a home in a gated section of the Belcaro neighborhood in March 2023.
The 6,000-square-foot home was the 2022 Boys and Girls Dream Home. The four-bedroom, six-bath home has a kitchen with a glass wine wall that holds hundreds of bottles.
When Payton, the former head coach of the New Orleans Saints, signed his five-year contract for $18 million per year with the Broncos in February 2023, he was the NFL’s second-highest-paid coach.
At the time, he was behind New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, who left the Patriots in January.
Now, he’s second to Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, who will earn $25 million annually after signing a new five-year extension in April.
The Walton family, which led the group that bought the team, is spending nearly $50 million to develop a luxury compound in Denver’s exclusive Polo Club neighborhood.
Using Maroon Partners LLC, the family purchased two adjacent parcels of land for a combined cost of $28.2 million and plans to build a new mansion.
The plans call for a primary residence, guest house, and pool house. The primary residence will have six bedrooms, eight baths, and two laundry rooms. The guest house will have a living room and two bedrooms, each with its own bath. The pool house, labeled a “recreational wing,” will include a gym, sauna, TV room, and golf simulator bay. The plans also call for an outdoor pool and a greenhouse.
CLB Architects of Jackson, Wyo., designed the plans. Vail’s Beck Builds is listed as the general contractor, and Design Workshop is the landscape architect.
Originally Published: August 25, 2024 at 6:00 a.m.
