Sean Payton started to check through the list of all the ingredients he thinks are needed to have a championship-contending team in the NFL.
“It has to start with quarterback,” the Broncos head coach said when asked to outline why he’s taken such a bullish stance on this team. “It has to start with defense. It has to start with the offensive line. There are certain things that if they’re not on point, it’s hard to make a statement like that. When you look at some of these critical factors, I told (the team) that, all of that just means you have a chance.”
He had one more factor in mind, too.
“I would say, most importantly, ownership,” Payton said.
That big of a role? How can that be?
“Because there are 20 (franchises) that each year have hopes and dreams and they’re dysfunctional at the top,” Payton said.
Payton believes the on-field pieces are in place. Every contributor on the offensive and defensive lines — units he and general manager George Paton have each said graded out as the club’s best in 2024 — is back this season. Quarterback Bo Nix accounted for 34 touchdowns his rookie season and has the tools, according to his head coach, to eventually be among the league’s best.
As for the Walton-Penner Family Ownership Group, evidence suggests they, too, are what the Broncos need.
Led by CEO Greg Penner and Carrie Walton Penner, they hired Payton and retained Paton, setting the table for the kind of stability and continuity the football side of the organization has lacked for years. They have made upgrades at Empower Field, are steaming through a $175 million-plus headquarters and training facility rebuild, have overseen six major contract extensions that came with more than $306 million guaranteed in the past 13 months, and are moving ever closer to deciding whether (and where) to build a new stadium.
But those are just the big-ticket items. The less visible ones include investing in player health and science, poaching new chief technology officer Daniel Brusilovsky from the Golden State Warriors, and making several other hires, tweaks and revamps.
“You feel like you’re never going to be short on resources, for sure,” tight end Adam Trautman told The Post. “They’re committed to building a winner. That started with bringing Coach Payton in, and it’s continued with everything else they’ve done.
“Everybody looks at (the new facility) every day and basically thinks, ‘I hope I’m here for it.’ It says a lot about them and how much they care for us, and it, for lack of a better word, vibrates through the entire building every day.”
Damani Leech, President of the Denver Broncos, speaks during a press conference at training camp at Broncos Park Powered by CommonSpirit in Centennial on Saturday, July 26, 2025. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)
Damani Leech, President of the Denver Broncos, speaks during a press conference at training camp at Broncos Park Powered by CommonSpirit in Centennial on Saturday, July 26, 2025. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)
The Broncos’ owners are seen as a growing power in the NFL. They are the wealthiest in the league, and they now have a foundation built and plan in place for helping elevate the franchise back into the realm of sports’ elite.
“I think one, setting the vision for the organization and being really clear about what it means when we say we want to be the best team in sports to play for, work for and cheer for,” team president Damani Leech told The Post recently. “And everything cascades down from there.
“What does that look like? That means having a great training facility, a great place for your staff to come work every day. It means having a great stadium for your fans to come and cheer at. And so, setting that vision has been really important, but also explaining and really reminding everybody every day what we mean when we say these things, and what it takes in order to do that.”
The new headquarters and training facility, set to be enclosed by November and ready for move-in by May, will be an upgrade over the current building. But just the construction site alone is a powerful symbol when the Broncos are recruiting free agents, assistant coaches or front office staffers.
“This is an attractive spot,” Payton said. “So you can win a lot of the jump balls if you’re competing against two different teams. I think ownership has a lot to do with that, stability has a lot to do with that.”
It certainly didn’t hurt when the Broncos were trying to win free agency battles for players like former San Francisco 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw and safety Talanoa Hufanga, or for Jaguars tight end Evan Engram.
“Two years ago, you’re selling a vision,” Payton said. “I can’t tell you what the new building’s going to look like two years ago, but I can tell you what it’s going to look like now, and it’s an easier sell when you kind of see it a little bit. It’s that simple.”
Denver Broncos co-owner Carrie Walton Penner talks to workers during a topping out ceremony for the NFL football team's new training facility, Friday, Aug. 1, 2025, in Centennial, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Denver Broncos co-owner Carrie Walton Penner talks to workers during a topping out ceremony for the NFL football team's new training facility, Friday, Aug. 1, 2025, in Centennial, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
It’s a franchise with a lot of irons in the fire at this point.
They’ve got an ascending roster squarely in the prime window for building around Nix while he’s playing on his rookie contract.
They’ve got steady hands in Payton and Paton, even though both had to substantially replenish their staffs this winter after teams around the league came poaching.
They’ve got the headquarters opening in less than a year that will give the franchise a cutting-edge home.
They will make a decision on the prospect of building a new stadium in the coming months.
“I don’t see how you wouldn’t want to be a part of this,” Trautman said. “Especially the guys that are fighting for roster spots, like, you’re hoping that you end up staying here. Because of how they take care of players. And the culture of guys is so awesome, too. We can joke around and everything, but we also take it seriously.
“It’s pretty much the perfect balance of everything, and I don’t see why you’d want to play anywhere else.”
Want more Broncos news? Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis.