NEW YORK, NY – NOVEMBER 15: Earvin “Magic” Johnson attends the celebration of best-selling author of “Aiming High” Darren Prince with DuJour Media’s Jason Binn and NBA legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson on November 15, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for DuJour Media)
Magic Johnson could take Showtime to the Mile High City.
According to Sportico’s Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams, the former Los Angeles Lakers icon has joined a group led by Philadelphia 76ers governor Josh Harris to bid on the Denver Broncos.
The NFL franchise is expected to draw the highest price paid for a sports franchise, surpassing the $3.3 billion Joe Tsai spent to buy the Brooklyn Nets in 2019.
This isn’t a new role for Johnson, who was part of a group that purchased the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2011. He also holds an ownership stake in the Los Angeles Sparks.
Adding an NFL team to his already impressive portfolio would only cement Johnson’s off-the-court legacy.
Others fans uncertain of his football acumen joked about Johnson’s tendency to post robotic-sounding tweets when watching sports.
One would imagine Johnson is more excited about potentially owning the Broncos than Homer Simpson. While his group will likely need to bid more than Hank Scorpio, it’d still be pretty good.
The Simpsons episode in reference, “You Only Move Twice,” aired on November 3, 1996. Soon after, the Broncos won back-to-back championships behind John Elway and Terrell Davis before Peyton Manning led them back up the mountaintop in the 2015 season.
Denver hasn’t made the postseason since, but that could change after acquiring Russell Wilson this offseason. The new quarterback may make the franchise more appealing to Johnson and other bidders.
