NEW YORK: Rob Walton is adding seven-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton of Britain to the Denver Broncos’ new ownership group.
Hamilton, 37, who drives for the Mercedes team and whose 103 career victories are the most in F1 history, is the third limited partner brought aboard by the Walton-Penner ownership group headed by Walmart heir Rob Walton, his daughter, Carrie Walton Penner, and her husband, Greg Penner. “Excited to join an incredible group of owners and become a part of the Broncos story!!” Hamilton tweeted. “Honored to work with a world class team and serve as an example of the value of more diverse leadership across all sports.” Commissioner Roger Goodell has made minority ownership a point of emphasis in the league.
Hamilton is Black, as are the new ownership group’s two other limited partners, Starbucks board chair Mellody Hobson and former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
The Walton-Penner group won the bidding for the Broncos with a $4.65 billion offer, the highest price paid for any sports franchise in the world.