LOS ANGELES – Former NFL quarterbacks John Elway and Peyton Manning have expressed an interest in buying a share of the Denver Broncos football team, “but Mat Ishbia, CEO of Michigan’s UWM Holdings, is teaming with a Los Angeles billionaire as possible contenders for what is expected to be the priciest team sale in North American sports history,” the Los Angeles Times and the Detroit News reported on May 26.

“Ishbia, 42, is joining Alec Gores, 69, whose Beverly Hills-based Gores Group buys and sells companies, as part of an investment group in which the three partners have a combined net worth of $10 billion, according to Forbes,” the Times reported, adding that “Gores is the brother of Pistons’ owner Tom Gores” and “the group also includes Dean Metropoulos, 75, a Florida investment titan with whom Alec Gores teamed to revive the iconic Hostess Brand.”

“It is uncertain whether the three men would consider additional investors for their planned bid,” the Times reported, noting that “the Broncos were put up for sale last week” and “the team is valued at $3.8 billion by Sportico.”

“However, given the Broncos’ avid following and the rarity of an NFL team available for sale, the bidding is expected to hit $4 billion,” the Times reported, adding that “the last NFL team to be sold, the Carolina Panthers, went for $2.3 billion in 2018,” and “the record price for a North American team: $2.4 billion, for the New York Mets in 2020.”

“Elway and Manning are Hall of Fame quarterbacks with a Broncos legacy, and each has indicated he would consider joining an investment group,” the Times reported, noting that “a spokesman for Gores declined comment.”