Image: Perhaps Peyton Manning will be in attendance during the first game in the Denver team's upcoming stadium, which is expected to be finished in 2028.
Perhaps Peyton Manning will be in attendance during the first game in the Denver team's upcoming stadium, which is expected to be finished in 2028.
Peyton Manning, who helped lead the Denver Broncos to a Super Bowl victory, has joined the ownership team of the new National Women's Soccer League team in Denver.
Manning, along with legendary alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin, invested in bringing the NWSL team to Denver after the team was originally announced earlier this year.
“It’s a real honor to be part of something so meaningful to the Colorado community,” Manning, a Colorado resident, says in an announcement about his investment. “I’m proud to support the growth of women’s sports and excited to help build a club that our city and our state can rally behind.”
Since retiring from the NFL, Manning has become a television personality as well. He and his brother, Eli, have a Monday Night Football alternate broadcast together known as the Manningcast, which Peyton reportedly often broadcasts from Colorado. The NFL Hall of Fame quarterback owns two homes in the Cherry Hills neighborhood.
Manning may have gotten the idea to invest in the NWSL from Eli, who invested in Gotham FC, the New York/New Jersey NWSL team, in 2022. Gotham won the NWSL championship a year after Eli's investment, so the elder Manning's move into the Denver team's ownership group could be a good omen.
The team's controlling owner is IMA Financial Group CEO Rob Cohen, while Project Level by Ariel Investments — led by entrepreneur and Broncos owner Mellody Hobson and former Washington Commanders president Jason Wright — are also top investors. Other owners include Shiffrin, Jon-Erik Borgen and Kaia Borgen Moritz, Neelima Joshi, Dhiren Jhaveri and Molly Coors.
“Peyton’s legacy as a champion and a leader is second to none,” Cohen says of Manning joining the team. “He brings passion, insight, and deep local roots — all of which will help us shape the future of Denver NWSL.”
Though Manning is the biggest name to join the team, Shiffrin is the most accomplished, having won over 100 skiing World Cup victories, eight World Championships and two Olympic Gold medals.
Denver NWSL's owners have consistently said they know investing in the league will be good business and that they want to compete.