Pat Bowlen - Denver Broncos' Owner

Patrick Dennis "Pat" Bowlen (born February 18, 1944) is the majority owner and Chief Executive Officer of the Denver Broncos. The Bowlen Family, including his two brothers John Bowlen and Bill Bowlen, and sister Marybeth Bowlen, purchased the team from Edgar Kaiser in 1984 and saved the team from possible bankruptcy.

Pat Bowlen net worth: Pat Bowlen is an American attorney, majority owner, and Chief Executive Owner of the Denver Broncos of the National Football League who has an estimated net worth of $1 billion. Pat Bowlen was born in 1944 in Prairie du Chein, Wisconsin. His father, Paul Bowlen, had become a millionaire in the Canadian oil business. Bowlen got his BA and JD from the University of Oklahoma. Though he had plenty of oil money in his family, Pat became wealthy on his own with a successful law practice in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Bowlen also worked as an executive for his father's company, Regent Drilling and as a real estate developer. In 1984, as the Broncos faced bankruptcy under former owner Edgar Kaiser, Bowlen along with his brothers John and Bill and sister Marybeth purchased a majority stake in the NFL franchise for $78 million. One year later the rest of his family joined to purchase the entire franchise. The Broncos then drafted Stanford quarterback John Elway with the first overall pick in the 1983 draft. Elway led the Broncos to five AFC championships in 1986, 1987, 1989, 1997 and 1998 as well as to two Super Bowl victories in 1998 and 1999. The Denver Broncos saw a resurgence in their fan base, began to turn a profit, and had the opportunity to do so because of Pat Bowlen.

Below is a summary of the Denver Broncos’ success during Mr. Bowlen’s ownership (1984-2012):

• The Denver Broncos won back-to-back World Championships in 1997 (Super Bowl XXXII vs. the Green Bay Packers 31-24) and 1998 (Super Bowl XXXIII vs. the Atlanta Falcons 34-19).

• Denver became the sixth NFL franchise to win back-to-back Super Bowls, joining Green Bay, Miami, Pittsburgh (twice), San Francisco and Dallas. The Broncos became the first AFC team to do it in two decades.

• When the Broncos won Super Bowl XXXII, they were the first AFC team to win in 14 years and just the second wild card team to win a Super Bowl under the NFL’s present playoff system.

• The Broncos own AFC Championships under Pat Bowlen in 1986, 1987, 1989, 1997 and 1998.

• Denver was the only AFC franchise to make three Super Bowl appearances in the 1980s.

• Denver ranks second in the NFL in regular-season wins (276), third in overall wins (292), tied for second in Super Bowl appearances (5), fourth in conference championship game appearances (7) and tied for fourth in playoff appearances (15).

• The Broncos have dominated the AFC Western Division by posting more division titles (10), conference championship game appearances (7) and Super Bowl appearances (5) than any other club in the division.

• In addition to winning 10 division titles, Mr. Bowlen’s franchise has had regular-season win totals of 14, 13 (four times), 12 (twice), 11 (four times) and 10 (three times). Fourteen of the 15 best years in team history have come during Mr. Bowlen’s ownership.

• The Broncos won an NFL-record seven postseason games in a two-year period (1997-1998).

• The Broncos had 33 wins over a two-year period (1997-1998), at that time the most in NFL history.

• The Broncos had an NFL-record 46 wins over a three-year period (1996-1998).

• The Broncos became the second team in modern NFL history to go undefeated during regular-season play at home for three consecutive seasons (1996-1998).

• His 1997-1998 teams performed the astonishing feat of going nearly an entire calendar year without a defeat (12/15/97-12/13/98), at that time a league-record 18 consecutive wins.

• In 1998, Denver won a franchise-record 17 games (14 in the regular season), including a 13-0 start that resulted in Denver going nearly an entire calendar year without a loss.

• The Broncos have the best home record (177-70 / .717) in pro football over the past 29 years.

• The Broncos have had an NFL-low five losing seasons compared to their 17 winning seasons.

Pat Bowlen also has enjoyed tremendous off-the-field success as well.

• In Mr. Bowlen’s 29 years of ownership, the Broncos have played 29 postseason games, all of which have been sold out.

• The Broncos have sold out every game during Mr. Bowlen’s ownership for a streak of 247 consecutive games (regular season and postseason) that is the third-longest active streak in the league.

• Denver has led the NFL in attendance during Mr. Bowlen’s 29-year period as owner. The Broncos have drawn nearly 20 million fans to their home games from 1984-2012, marking the highest total in the NFL.

• Mr. Bowlen ushered in a new era in Denver Broncos football history in 2001 when the state-of-the-art Sports Authority Field at Mile High opened. Mr. Bowlen contributed more than $150 million to the construction of the new stadium and helped fund a $30 million upgrade during the 2013 offseason.

• Mr. Bowlen has worked closely with the Broncos’ personnel department in maintaining the club’s roster in the era of free agency that has resulted in unprecedented player stability.

• In addition to his role with the Broncos, Mr. Bowlen was a key figure in securing the league’s labor and TV contracts. He served as co-chair of the powerful NFL Management Council Executive Committee from 2001-11 and remains a member of the prestigious NFL Broadcasting Committee, which he formerly chaired. He also is on the NFL Compensation Committee, the NFL Network Committee, the Pro Football Hall of Fame Committee and Los Angeles Working Group Committee.

• In his role as Chair of the NFL Broadcast Committee, Mr. Bowlen was responsible for the negotiations on the NFL’s $18 billion TV contract, the most lucrative single-sport contract in history

• He was responsible for the Broncos’ headquarters, the Paul D. Bowlen Memorial Centre, a 90,000 square foot modern office and training facility located on the team’s 13.5 acre complex in Dove Valley, Arapahoe County. The facility is named after Pat Bowlen’s father, and the Broncos moved into the building on March 5, 1990. Over the past nine offseasons, an extensive remodeling and expansion plan was implemented, assuring that the team headquarters would remain at the top level of NFL training facilities.

Early life
Bowlen was born in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, the son of Arvella (née Woods) and Paul Dennis Bowlen, who became a millionaire in the Canadian oil business, founding Regent Drilling as a wildcatter. The oil company is now owned by Pat's brother John.[1] Bowlen is Catholic and his team’s charity raised more than $1 million recently for the Catholic Capuchin order’s ministries to Denver’s poor and homeless.He attended Campion Jesuit Catholic High School and later earned degrees in business (1965) and law (1968) from the University of Oklahoma. The younger Bowlen became wealthy in his own right by becoming a successful lawyer in Edmonton, Alberta. He also worked as an executive for his father's company and as a real estate developer and had major investments in the mining industry.

Bowlen is an initiated member of the Pi Kappa Alpha International Fraternity. He was initiated by the University of Oklahoma, Beta Omicron chapter in 1963. He is a member of the bar association and law society of Alberta, Canada. Bowlen is also one of the largest donors to the University of Denver.

Denver Broncos owner
Over the last several years, Bowlen and the Broncos have been involved in several legal battles against one-time owner Edgar Kaiser. In 2004, Bowlen agreed to sell retired football legend John Elway a 10% share in the team. However, Kaiser sued, claiming a breach of contract. Kaiser asserted that he had a right of first refusal if any deal is made involving franchise ownership. In 2004, a jury ruled in favor of Kaiser and a Federal judge decreed that Kaiser was entitled to purchase back 10 percent of the Broncos using the identical purchase terms offered to Elway.Bowlen appealed the original verdict that ruled in favor of Kaiser and won, as the appellate court ruled that the structure of the Bowlen-Elway deal did not violate the original right of first refusal agreement.

On December 30, 2008, Broncos head coach and Vice President of Football Operations Mike Shanahan was fired by Bowlen after a 14-year tenure as the head coach. Bowlen stated he wanted his team to go in a different direction. He undertook a search over two weeks and eventually chose Josh McDaniels who at the time was the offensive coordinator of the New England Patriots, as the new head coach of the Broncos. Subsequently, after a losing streak in the 2010-11 season, McDaniels was fired as head coach of the Broncos.On February 12, 2009, Bowlen appointed Brian Xanders as the team's sole general manager and fired Jim Goodman and Jeff Goodman.

Within two weeks of the end of the 2010-11 regular season, Bowlen and the Broncos had hired former Carolina Panthers' coach John Fox to be their new head coach. Although Bowlen had discussions with Fox before the hiring, new front-office executive John Elway was mostly responsible for the hiring. Since late 2009, rumors have begun to emerge that Bowlen stepped out of the spotlight and is suffering from short-term memory loss.He told The Denver Post columnist Woody Paige that his memory wasn't what it used to be and that he couldn't recall details of the Broncos back-to-back Super Bowl titles in the late 1990s. For most of 2010, Bowlen was invisible. He no longer plays a major role in the Broncos' decision making; Executive VP John Elway, and President Joe Ellis now have that control.

Colorado Crush ownership
Besides being owner and CEO of the Broncos, Bowlen was also part-owner of the Arena Football League's Colorado Crush. He shared ownership with Denver-based sports mogul Stan Kroenke and legendary Broncos quarterback John Elway. The Crush entered the AFL as an expansion franchise in 2003. After going through a 2-14 season in '03, the team soon became a perennial playoff contender and one of the league's top franchises. The Crush won the Arena Football Championship in 2005. Bowlen has won 3 championships as a football franchise owner; 2 Super Bowl titles with the Broncos in 1998 & 1999, and an Arena Football title in 2005 with the Crush.

Denver Outlaws ownership
In 2006 Major League Lacrosse decided to expand adding the Denver Outlaws to its league of teams. The Denver Outlaws have been the most winning franchise that Bowlen has ever owned boasting a regular season win percentage of .700 since their creation. The Outlaws have been to the Playoffs every year they have been in existence and advanced as far as the championship game 3 times (2006, 2008, 2009).