Records are made to be broken by the next generation of athletes, and it appears rules can be bent considerably by wealthy businessmen.
In getting around the NFL’s hardly strict policy that prohibits owners from also controlling other sports teams in NFL markets, Stan Kroenke may be following the precedent set by Wayne Huizenga in 1994.
Kroenke, who owns the NHL Avalanche and NBA Nuggets in the same Denver market as the NFL Broncos, likely will also be allowed to own the NFL St. Louis Rams.
“The proposed transaction is being reviewed by the finance committee and that hasn’t been completed,” NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Wednesday. “There have been no reports to our clubs. We’re not going to discuss the details of what he’s proposed. That’s what is under review.”
It’s possible Kroenke’s full purchase of the Rams — he already owns 40 percent of the club — could come to a vote when NFL owners meet Aug. 25 at a site still to be determined.
It appears Kroenke could get around the NFL cross-ownership policy by transferring controlling interest of the Avs and Nuggets to either his wife, Ann, or son Josh.
The NFL already amended its cross-ownership policy in 1994 when it allowed Huizenga to buy the NFL Dolphins even though he already owned baseball’s Florida Marlins and hockey’s Florida Panthers in the Miami market.
Mike Klis, The Denver Post
