Crypto Enthusiasts Raising $4 Billion To Buy Denver Broncos

KEY POINTS

DAO has been used to raise money to buy real-world assets
The team owned by Bowlen family
To be on the market from the start of NFL season of 2022

NFL Team Denver Broncos is on the market and a group of crypto aficionados intends to collect $4 billion via a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) to buy the team.

DAO is an organization represented by rules encoded in a computer program that is transparent, self-governing, and does not need a central authority. The financial transactions and software rules of a DAO are stored on a blockchain.

According to ESPN, the pro football franchise is valued a little under $4 billion and is projected to fetch the highest price in North American sports history.

The DAO intending to buy the Denver Broncos is led by Sean O'Brien, who is a lawyer by profession and a die-hard Broncos fan. Other members of the DAO include lawyers, accountants, software developers and athletes. Colorado Governor Jared Polis also supports the cause of this DAO.

The team's trustees announced that the team would be on the market from the start of the NFL season in 2022. Currently, it is owned by the Bowlen Family.

O’Brien told CNBC in an interview that the DAO will go live in the first week of March. He also explained the arrangement of ownership of the team. The DAO would also incorporate as a cooperative, and participants in the DAO would have a parallel ownership share of the cooperative and in turn a share in the ownership of the team.

If the DAO wins the bid, it would not be the first time a cooperative would own an NFL Team. The Green Bay Packers of Wisconsin are owned by a community cooperative that was founded in 1923.

In 1980, the NFL adopted new regulations prohibiting "decentralized," community-driven ownership structures. The new regulations require that ownership be controlled by a single individual who owns at least 30% of the team, with small exceptions for family ownership structures. Additionally, each team is limited to 32 owners, and all sales must be approved by the NFL.

But the Green Bay Packers is an exception to this rule via a grandfathering clause. It would be interesting to note how NFL reacts to the DAO aiming to buy the Denver Broncos.