CENTENNIAL • Rob Walton, Greg Penner, Carrie Walton-penner, Condoleezza Rice, Mellody Hobson and Lewis Hamilton have never owned a professional sports team.

The Walton-penner Family Ownership Group, which officially bought the Denver Broncos on Tuesday for a record $4.65 billion, is new to this. And that’s why they intend to lean heavily on those already in the Broncos’ building, like general manager George Paton, and possibly others who aren’t inside the building yet.

“We have business experi

ence,” Penner said Wednesday, “and we’ll obviously draw on that, but this is new and so for us, it’s a process of listening and learning.”

Penner, who will serve as the franchise’s CEO, said that he will be involved with the day to day of the Broncos, but intends to hire a president to help him. What that role looks like is unknown.

Is it someone who will bridge the gap between football and business? Someone who is business-savvy in the sports world? Or someone they trust to run the football operations alongside Paton?

“I think sports experience is really important,” Penner said. “Is it absolutely essential? I’d say probably no, but it would make the bar higher to find the right person.”

While those questions have yet to be answered, the hierarchy is clear: Walton is the principal owner, Penner is the CEO and Walton-penner, Hobson, Rice and Hamilton will be asked for their input when needed. Penner said they won’t have a board of directors, but that the six stakeholders will sort of serve as an informal board. And that’s essentially how late owner Pat Bowlen did it, with Joe Ellis serving as the team’s president. “Everybody is going to be involved,” Penner said. “Obviously, with six of us, someone has to be on point, so I will take that role. So you will be seeing, probably, most from me here . ... Rob and Carrie will probably be here with me a lot, as well, dealing with any big issues or questions or strategic decisions that we are making. Most of all, we are really looking forward to all having fun together with this.

“Obviously this is a business, but this is a sports franchise. We want to win and that’s our goal, and part of that is having a lot of fun as a family and with this group while we do that.”

Penner intends to let Paton do his job with little interference. After all, Penner knows there are more qualified people in the organization to handle the football operations. Of the six stakeholders, Rice is the most knowledgeable when it comes to X’s and O’s, with her dad being a coach and her previously serving on the College Football Playoff committee.

Still, it’s going to be Paton’s and coach Nathaniel Hackett’s show on the field.

“We’re big believers in empowering people,” Penner said. “We’re not going to be drafting players. We’re going to empower this team led by George Paton and Nathaniel Hackett to make those key decisions. Obviously, part of this fun is learning and understanding and all of that but we’re not going to be (making the football decisions). They’re going to make the football decisions.”

One name many in Broncos

Country would be excited to have as president is Peyton Manning, who was speculated to have interest in being a stakeholder. Penner said Wednesday that, as of right now, they don’t plan to take on any more stakeholders, including Manning or John Elway, who was previously the GM and executive vice president of football operations.

“We are in a terrific position of having two great Broncos,” Penner said of Manning and Elway. “John Elway is the ultimate Bronco. He won championships as both a player and an executive. I have had a chance to visit with him and look forward to learning as much from him as possible.

“Peyton is one of the greatest NFL players of all time — obviously, won a championship here. We have had a chance to get to know him through the process as well. We are just going to learn from both of them. I think it is going to be a really good relationship.”

But no matter who Penner hires and how the hierarchy shakes out after said person is hired, Penner and the ownership group do intend to leave their own stamp on the franchise. And that could start with a new stadium, although Penner has been coy when asked about the possibility of building a new stadium, continuing to state there are still 10 years left on the lease for Empower Field at Mile High.

Penner will also surely be in the room when discussing Russell Wilson’s future with the franchise, as they hope to sign the star quarterback to a long-term deal soon. Penner was asked about Wilson’s future on Wednesday, but said there was no update on the contract situation. That is sure to be his and Paton’s top priority moving forward.

And while the Walton-penner group has much to do and learn in the coming months, they couldn’t have asked for a better transition period. While the Broncos haven’t made the playoffs in six seasons, it does appear the team is on its way to being relevant again this year, with fan interest being the highest its been since winning Super Bowl 50 in 2015-16.

For Walton-penner, who have had plenty of opportunities to purchase sports franchises in the past, it was not only the right team but the right time.

“There have been other teams, and we did first start thinking about this about 10 years ago,” Penner said. “We contemplated the idea of other sports franchises, but if we were going to do something, this was going to be it. We live and work in Colorado. The NFL is just an incredible platform and the Broncos with what they mean to this region and the success that they have had. If we were going to buy any team, this was the team.”

Well, now it’s theirs. And their vision, on and off the field, is no secret.

“The big vision,” Penner said, “is that we want to win football championships.”