Broncos CEO Joe Ellis, and head of the Pat Bowlen Trust, announced that Brittany Bowlen will be joining the front office in a “senior management position” by the end of 2019.
In an interview with 9News, Ellis was short on details but made it clear this move is a step toward settling the ownership question with the franchise:
“She can be helpful to us. After talking to her I anticipate her being back in the building within the year. She understands what her role would be. It’s not an anointment in any way, shape, or form that she would become the owner. She has to come in and earn it and prove her ware and gain respect and trust from everybody within the organization.
“She’s going to start with a job where she’s going to add some value to this organization. I don’t have specifics on it yet, but I’ve talked to her about it and I look forward to getting her in there. She can definitely help the Broncos.”
Ellis provided few details when pressed, but in a separate interview, he elaborated a bit further as noted by Nicki Jhabvala from The Athletic.
“What she’ll need to show, I think, is the emotional intelligence and the ability to lead and manage and show good judgment and earn the trust and respect of everybody around her,” Ellis said. “It’s a little different when a family member comes into the organization and how you handle yourself in front of the employees is something all of us as trustees and myself specifically are going to be looking at. And I’ve talked to her about that.
“There is a little more pressure, there’s a little more all-eyes-on-you kind of approach when you’re a family member coming into the organization. I’m confident she’ll be able to handle it well.”
It would seem that a Bowlen heir’s experience and work history might be less important to him than personality and leadership abilities, which does give fans a little insight into where Ellis’ line of thinking may have been throughout this process and his nearly decade-long control of the franchise.
NFL to arbitrate Bill Bowlen case
In related but separate news, the NFL announced it would also begin the arbitration process to settle the ownership dispute between Bill Bowlen, brother of Pat Bowlen, who believes the Broncos Trust is invalid.
“We have started the arbitration process,’’ Goodell said this week. “Carmen Policy, I’ve selected him to oversee that. We actually have been at it for 30 or 35 days.’’
Policy is a former NFL executive with both the San Francisco 49ers and Cleveland Browns and according to 9News also worked directly with Pat Bowlen in 1994 on a committee that negotiated on behalf of the NFL for the Oakland Raiders to play in Hollywood Park. That deal fell through as Al Davis moved the team back to Oakland that year.
This news is significant as Bill Bowlen’s request for a stay of arbitration was denied by the 18th District Court a few weeks ago, which has cleared the path for the NFL to potentially resolve this dispute on its own.
It seems likely that Policy would have known Pat Bowlen rather well and potentially even both Bill Bowlen and Joe Ellis, since Bill was a part owner of the team in the 90s. Policy also played a huge role in the Carson stadium project that led to the Los Angeles Rams moving there in 2016.
Here is our series on the ownership dispute from early February - Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.