The Denver Broncos are a professional
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...
franchise based in
Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
. The Broncos compete in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...
(NFL) as a member club of the league's
American Football Conference (AFC)
West division. The team is headquartered in
Dove Valley, Colorado.
The team began play in 1960 as a charter member of the
American Football League (AFL) and joined the NFL as part of the
merger in 1970. The Broncos are currently owned by the
Walton-
Penner group, and play their home games at
Empower Field at Mile High
Empower Field at Mile High (previously known as Broncos Stadium at Mile High, Invesco Field at Mile High and Sports Authority Field at Mile High, and commonly known as Mile High, New Mile High or Mile High Stadium) is an American football stadiu ...
; Denver previously played its home games at
Mile High Stadium
Mile High Stadium (originally Bears Stadium until 1968) was an outdoor multi-purpose stadium located in Denver, Colorado from 1948 to 2001.
The stadium was built in 1948 to accommodate the Denver Bears baseball team, which was a member of the ...
from its inception in 1960 through the 2000 season.
The Broncos were barely competitive during their 10-year run in the AFL and their first seven years in the NFL. They did not have a winning season until
1973 and qualified for their first playoffs in
1977, eventually advancing to
Super Bowl XII that season. Since 1975, the Broncos have become one of the NFL's most successful teams, having suffered only eleven losing seasons. They have won eight
AFC Championships (, , , , , , , ), and three
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the gam ...
championships ( (
XXXII), (
XXXIII
33 (thirty-three) is the natural number following 32 and preceding 34.
In mathematics
33 is:
* the largest positive integer that cannot be expressed as a sum of different triangular numbers.
* the smallest odd repdigit that is not a prime num ...
), (
50)), and share the NFL record for most Super Bowl losses (5 — tied with the
New England Patriots). The Broncos have eight primary members enshrined in the
Pro Football Hall of Fame:
John Elway,
Floyd Little
Floyd Douglas Little (July 4, 1942 – January 1, 2021) was an American professional football player who was a halfback for the Denver Broncos, initially in the American Football League (AFL) and later the National Football League (NFL). He ...
,
Shannon Sharpe,
Gary Zimmerman,
Terrell Davis
Terrell Lamar Davis (born October 28, 1972) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL) from 1995 to 2001. He is the Broncos all-time leading rusher and ...
,
Champ Bailey, and
Steve Atwater
Stephen Dennis Atwater (born October 28, 1966) is an American former professional football player who spent most of his career playing free safety for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). Atwater and Dennis Smith made up a ...
, along with late club owner
Pat Bowlen.
Franchise history
Bob Howsman/Gerald Phipps era (1960–1980)
The Denver Broncos were founded on August 14, 1959, when
minor league baseball owner
Bob Howsam was awarded an
American Football League (AFL) charter franchise.
The Broncos won the first-ever AFL game over the
Boston Patriots 13–10, on September 9,
1960
It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism.
Events
January
* Ja ...
. Seven years later on August 5,
1967, they became the first-ever AFL team to defeat an
NFL team, with a 13–7 win over the
Detroit Lions in a preseason game.
However, the Broncos were not successful in the 1960s, winning more than five games only once (7–7,
1962), compiling a record during the ten seasons of the AFL.
Denver came close to losing its franchise in
1965
Events January–February
* January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years.
* January 20
** Lyndon B. Johnson is sworn in for a full term ...
, until a local ownership group took control,
and rebuilt the team. The team's first superstar, "Franchise"
Floyd Little
Floyd Douglas Little (July 4, 1942 – January 1, 2021) was an American professional football player who was a halfback for the Denver Broncos, initially in the American Football League (AFL) and later the National Football League (NFL). He ...
, was instrumental in keeping the team in Denver, due to his signing in
1967 as well as his
Pro Bowl efforts on and off the field. The Broncos were the only original AFL team that never played in the title game, as well as the only original AFL team never to have a winning season while a member of the AFL during the upstart league's 10-year history.
In 1972, the Broncos hired former
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...
coach
John Ralston as their
head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in asso ...
. In
1973, he was the
UPI's
AFC
AFC may stand for:
Organizations
* Action for Children, a UK children's charity
* AFC Enterprises, the franchisor of Popeye's Chicken and Biscuits
* Africa Finance Corporation, a pan-African multilateral development finance institution
* A ...
Coach of the Year, after Denver achieved its first winning season at 7–5–2. In five seasons with the Broncos, Ralston guided the team to winning seasons three times. Though Ralston finished the
1976 season with a 9–5 record, the team, as was the case in Ralston's previous winning seasons, still missed the playoffs. Following the season, several prominent players publicly voiced their discontent with Ralston, which soon led to his resignation.
Red Miller, a long-time assistant coach, was hired and along with the
Orange Crush Defense
The Orange Crush Defense was the 3–4 defense of the Denver Broncos during the late 1970s and early 1980s. The National Football League (NFL) team adopted the 3–4 defense during the 1976 Denver Broncos season, 1976 season, and the nickname "O ...
(a nickname originated in 1977, also the brand of
the popular orange-flavored soft drink) and aging
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Am ...
Craig Morton, took the Broncos to what was then a record-setting 12–2 regular-season record and their first playoff appearance in
1977, and ultimately made their first Super Bowl appearance in
Super Bowl XII, in which they were defeated by the
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...
(Morton's former team), 27–10.
Edgar Kaiser/Pat Bowlen era (1981–2018)
In
1981, Broncos' owner
Gerald Phipps Gerald Phipps (March 4, 1915 – August 6, 1993) was a businessman, President of Gerald H. Phipps, Inc., a construction company, and owner of the Denver Broncos American football club from 1961 to 1981.
Phipps and Cal Kunz purchased the Broncos fr ...
, who had purchased the team in May 1961 from the original owner
Bob Howsam, sold the team to Canadian financier
Edgar Kaiser Jr., grandson of shipbuilding industrialist
Henry J. Kaiser. In
1984, the team was purchased by another Canadian,
Pat Bowlen, who placed team ownership into a family trust sometime before
2004 and remained in day-to-day control until his battle with
Alzheimer's disease forced him to cede the team to
Joe Ellis
Josiah Wear Ellis (born November 16, 1957) is a former American football executive who was the president and CEO of the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL).
College
Ellis received his bachelor's degree from Colorado College ...
in
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...
.
Dan Reeves years (1981–1992)
Dan Reeves
Daniel Edward Reeves (January 19, 1944 – January 1, 2022) was an American football running back and coach in the National Football League (NFL). During his 38 years in the NFL, Reeves participated in nine Super Bowls, the third most for a ...
became the youngest head coach in the
NFL when he joined the Broncos in
1981 as vice president and
head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in asso ...
.
Quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Am ...
John Elway, who played college football at
Stanford, arrived in
1983 via a trade. Originally drafted by the
Baltimore Colts as the first pick of the
draft, Elway proclaimed that he would shun football in favor of
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
(he was drafted by the
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one ...
to play
center field
A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the ce ...
and was also a pitching prospect), unless he was traded to a selected list of other teams, which included the Broncos. Prior to Elway, the Broncos had over 24 different starting quarterbacks in its 23 seasons to that point.
Reeves and Elway guided the Broncos to six post-season appearances, five
AFC West
The American Football Conference – Western Division or AFC West is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The division comprises the Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, ...
divisional titles, three
AFC
AFC may stand for:
Organizations
* Action for Children, a UK children's charity
* AFC Enterprises, the franchisor of Popeye's Chicken and Biscuits
* Africa Finance Corporation, a pan-African multilateral development finance institution
* A ...
championships and three
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the gam ...
appearances (Super Bowl XXI, XXII and XXIV) during their 12-year span together. The Broncos lost
Super Bowl XXI to the
New York Giants, 39–20;
Super Bowl XXII
Super Bowl XXII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Washington Redskins and American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for ...
to the
Washington Redskins, 42–10; and
Super Bowl XXIV to the
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's Nationa ...
, 55–10; the latter score remains the most lopsided scoring differential in Super Bowl history. The last year of the Reeves-Elway era were marked by feuding, due to Reeves taking on play-calling duties after ousting Elway's favorite offensive coordinator
Mike Shanahan
Michael Edward Shanahan (born August 24, 1952) is a former American football coach, best known as the head coach of the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL) from 1995 to 2008. During his fourteen seasons with the Broncos, he le ...
after the
1991 season, as well as Reeves drafting quarterback
Tommy Maddox out of
UCLA instead of going with a
wide receiver to help Elway. Reeves was fired after the
1992 season and replaced by his protégé and friend
Wade Phillips, who had been serving as the Broncos' defensive coordinator.
Phillips was fired after a mediocre
1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nels ...
season, in which management felt he lost control of the team.
Mike Shanahan years (1995–2008)
In
1995,
Mike Shanahan
Michael Edward Shanahan (born August 24, 1952) is a former American football coach, best known as the head coach of the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL) from 1995 to 2008. During his fourteen seasons with the Broncos, he le ...
, who had formerly served under Reeves as the Broncos' offensive coordinator, returned as head coach. Shanahan drafted rookie
running back
A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball,
and block. Th ...
Terrell Davis
Terrell Lamar Davis (born October 28, 1972) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL) from 1995 to 2001. He is the Broncos all-time leading rusher and ...
. In
1996, the Broncos were the top seed in the AFC with a 13–3 record, dominating most of the teams that year. The fifth-seeded
Jacksonville Jaguars, however, upset the Broncos 30–27 in the divisional round of the playoffs, ending the Broncos' 1996 run.
= Super Bowl XXXII champions (1997)
=
During the
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...
season, Elway and Davis helped guide the Broncos to their first Super Bowl victory, a 31–24 win over the defending champion
Green Bay Packers in
Super Bowl XXXII. Though Elway completed only 13 of 22 passes, throwing one interception and no touchdowns (he did, however, have a rushing touchdown), Davis rushed for 157 yards and a Super Bowl-record three touchdowns to earn the
Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award—this while overcoming a severe migraine headache that caused him blurred vision.
= Super Bowl XXXIII champions (1998)
=
The Broncos repeated as Super Bowl champions the following season, defeating the
Atlanta Falcons (led by Elway's longtime head coach
Dan Reeves
Daniel Edward Reeves (January 19, 1944 – January 1, 2022) was an American football running back and coach in the National Football League (NFL). During his 38 years in the NFL, Reeves participated in nine Super Bowls, the third most for a ...
) in
Super Bowl XXXIII, 34–19. Elway was named Super Bowl MVP, completing 18 of 29 passes for 336 yards, with an 80-yard touchdown to wide receiver
Rod Smith and one interception.
John Elway retired following the
1998 season, and
Brian Griese started at
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Am ...
for the next four seasons. After a 6–10 record in
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...
, mostly due to a season-ending injury to Terrell Davis, the Broncos recovered in
2000, earning a Wild Card playoff berth, but losing to the eventual
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the gam ...
champion
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...
. After missing the playoffs the following two seasons, former
Arizona Cardinals' quarterback
Jake Plummer replaced Griese in
2003, and led the Broncos to two straight 10–6 seasons, earning Wild Card playoff berths both years. However, the Broncos went on the road to face the
Indianapolis Colts in back-to-back seasons and were blown out by more than 20 points in each game, allowing a combined 90 points.
Plummer led the Broncos to a 13–3 record in
2005 and their first
AFC West
The American Football Conference – Western Division or AFC West is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The division comprises the Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, ...
division title since 1998. After a first-round
bye, the Broncos defeated the defending Super Bowl champion
New England Patriots, 27–13, denying New England from becoming the first
NFL team ever to win three consecutive Super Bowl championships. They were the first team to beat the Patriots in the playoffs during the Tom Brady era. The Broncos' playoff run came to an end the next week, after losing at home to the
Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship game, 34–17. The Steelers went on to win
Super Bowl XL.
The Broncos' defense began the first five games of the
2006 season allowing only one touchdown - an NFL record that still stands. ESPN commentator and Super Bowl-winning QB Joe Theismann gave the 2006 defense the name “Bad Blue” on
Monday Night Football
''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, ...
as they played the Ravens. However, the team struggled down the season stretch. Plummer led the team to a 7–2 record, only to struggle and be replaced by rookie quarterback
Jay Cutler. Cutler went 2–3 as a starter, and the Broncos finished with a 9–7 record, losing the tiebreaker to the
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division.
The t ...
for the final playoff spot. Cutler's first full season as a starter in
2007 became the Broncos' first losing season since 1999, with a 7–9 record.
The
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
season ended in a 52–21 loss at the
San Diego Chargers, giving the Broncos an 8–8 record and their third straight season out of the playoffs.
Mike Shanahan
Michael Edward Shanahan (born August 24, 1952) is a former American football coach, best known as the head coach of the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL) from 1995 to 2008. During his fourteen seasons with the Broncos, he le ...
, the longest-tenured and most successful
head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in asso ...
in Broncos' franchise history, was fired after 14 seasons.
Josh McDaniels years (2009–2010)
On January 11, 2009, two weeks after Shanahan was fired, the Broncos hired former New England Patriots' offensive coordinator
Josh McDaniels as the team's new head coach. Three months later, the team acquired quarterback
Kyle Orton
Kyle Raymond Orton (born November 14, 1982) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football for Purdue, where he started four straight bowl games. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the fourth round of the 2005 NFL D ...
as part of a trade that sent Jay Cutler to the
Chicago Bears.
Under McDaniels and Orton, the Broncos jumped out to a surprising 6–0 start in
2009. However, the team lost eight of their next ten games, finishing 8–8 for a second consecutive season and missing the playoffs. The next season (
2010), the Broncos set a new franchise record for losses in a single season, with a 4–12 record. McDaniels was fired before the end of the 2010 season following a combination of the team's poor record and the fallout from a highly publicized
videotaping scandal. Running backs coach
Eric Studesville
Eric Studesville (born May 29, 1967) is an American football coach who is the associate head coach and running backs coach for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). Studesville is known as the former run game coordinator for ...
was named interim coach for the final four games of the 2010 season. He chose to start rookie first-round draft choice
Tim Tebow at quarterback for the final three games.
John Fox years (2011–2014)
Following the
2010 season,
Joe Ellis
Josiah Wear Ellis (born November 16, 1957) is a former American football executive who was the president and CEO of the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL).
College
Ellis received his bachelor's degree from Colorado College ...
was promoted from Chief Operating Officer to team president, while
John Elway returned to the organization as the team's Executive Vice President of Football Operations. In addition, the Broncos hired
John Fox as the team's 14th
head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in asso ...
. Fox previously served as the
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...
' head coach from 2002 to 2010.
Following a 1–4 start to the
2011 season,
Tim Tebow replaced
Kyle Orton
Kyle Raymond Orton (born November 14, 1982) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football for Purdue, where he started four straight bowl games. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the fourth round of the 2005 NFL D ...
as the Broncos' starting
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Am ...
, and “Tebow Time” was born. Tebow led the Broncos with toughness, determination and miraculous come-from-behind victories which gave the Broncos hope and were the catalyst for better things to come. Tebow led the Broncos to an 8–8 record and garnered the team's first playoff berth and division title since
2005. The Broncos defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild Card round on a memorable 80-yard touchdown pass from Tebow to
wide receiver Demaryius Thomas on the first play of overtime, setting a record for the fastest overtime in
NFL history. However, the Broncos lost to the
New England Patriots in the Divisional round.
In March 2012, the Broncos reached an agreement on a five-year,
$96 million contract with former longtime
Indianapolis Colts' quarterback
Peyton Manning, who had recently missed the entire season following multiple neck surgeries. This resulted in the Broncos subsequently trading incumbent
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Am ...
Tim Tebow to the
New York Jets. The Broncos finished with a 13–3 record and the
AFC
AFC may stand for:
Organizations
* Action for Children, a UK children's charity
* AFC Enterprises, the franchisor of Popeye's Chicken and Biscuits
* Africa Finance Corporation, a pan-African multilateral development finance institution
* A ...
's No. 1 seed in the
2012 playoffs, but were
defeated by the Baltimore Ravens in the Divisional round.
Like in
2012, the
2013 Broncos finished with a 13–3 record and the AFC's No. 1 seed. The Broncos broke all offensive records and QB Peyton Manning shattered many QB records that season as well. In the
2013 playoffs, they defeated the
San Diego Chargers in the Divisional round and the
New England Patriots in the AFC Championship. However, the Broncos lost to the
Seattle Seahawks in
Super Bowl XLVIII by a score of 43–8, the Broncos' first
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the gam ...
berth since winning back-to-back Super Bowls in
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...
and
1998.
Prior to the start of the
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...
season, the Broncos announced that
Pat Bowlen, the team's owner since
1984, relinquished control of the team due to his battle with
Alzheimer's disease, resulting in team president
Joe Ellis
Josiah Wear Ellis (born November 16, 1957) is a former American football executive who was the president and CEO of the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL).
College
Ellis received his bachelor's degree from Colorado College ...
and general manager
John Elway assuming control of the team.
The Broncos finished the 2014 season with a 12–4 record and the AFC's No. 2 seed. However, the Broncos were defeated by the
Indianapolis Colts in the Divisional round of the
2014 playoffs, marking the third time in four seasons that the Broncos lost in the Divisional round of the playoffs. Quarterback Peyton Manning had been playing with strained quadriceps for the final month of the 2014 season.
Gary Kubiak years (2015–2016)
On January 12, 2015, one day after the divisional playoff loss to the Colts, the Broncos and
head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in asso ...
John Fox mutually agreed to part ways. Fox left the Broncos with a .719 winning percentage in his four seasons as the Broncos' head coach—the highest in franchise history. One week later, the Broncos hired
Gary Kubiak as the team's 15th head coach. Kubiak served as a backup quarterback to executive vice president/general manager John Elway from 1983 to 1991, as well as the Broncos' offensive coordinator from 1995 to 2005.
= Super Bowl 50 champions (2015)
=
Shortly after Kubiak became head coach, the Broncos underwent numerous changes to their coaching staff and players, including the hiring of defensive coordinator, defensive mastermind
Wade Phillips, under whom the Broncos' defense went from middle of the road to being ranked No. 1 in the NFL. By the
2015 season, it would go on to be considered one of the greatest NFL defenses of all time - along with the 1985 Bears, 2000 Ravens and 2002 Buccaneers. The Broncos finished with a 12–4 record and the AFC's No. 1 seed, despite Peyton Manning having his worst statistical season since his rookie year with the
Indianapolis Colts in . Backup quarterback
Brock Osweiler started the last six games of the regular season due to Manning suffering from a foot injury. Manning led the Broncos throughout the
playoffs
The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eit ...
. The Broncos defeated the
Pittsburgh Steelers 23–16 in the Divisional Round and the
New England Patriots 20–18 in the AFC Championship. They were victorious against the
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...
24–10 in
Super Bowl 50 for their third Super Bowl title.
On March 7, 2016,
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Am ...
Peyton Manning retired after 18 NFL seasons during a press conference at the team's
Dove Valley headquarters.
Following Manning's retirement, the Broncos scrambled to find the team's next starting quarterback after backup quarterback
Brock Osweiler departed on a four-year contract to the
Houston Texans. The Broncos acquired
Mark Sanchez from the
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...
and selected
Paxton Lynch during the
2016 draft. Sanchez, Lynch and second-year quarterback
Trevor Siemian competed for the starting quarterback spot during the off-season and preseason. Prior to the
regular season
In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of ...
, Sanchez was released and Siemian was named the starter. The Broncos finished the season 9–7 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2010.
On January 2, 2017, coach
Gary Kubiak announced his retirement, citing health as the main reason for retiring. The Broncos hired
Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator
Vance Joseph
Vance Desmond Joseph (born September 20, 1972) is an American football coach and former player who is the defensive coordinator of the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). Previously he was the head coach of the Denver Bronco ...
as head coach on January 11, 2017. The Broncos finished 5–11 in 2017 as a result of an unimpressive offense led by a quarterback committee of
Trevor Siemian,
Brock Osweiler, and
Paxton Lynch.
In an effort to address poor production from the offense, the Broncos signed quarterback
Case Keenum
Casey Austin Keenum (born February 17, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Houston, where he became the NCAA's all-time leader in total passing ya ...
on March 14, 2018, and traded away
Trevor Siemian to the
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...
on March 19, 2018.
On May 1, 2018, the Broncos signed local
undrafted free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who i ...
running back
A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball,
and block. Th ...
Phillip Lindsay, who became a fan favorite due to his underdog mentality, explosive play style and local roots. Lindsay became the first undrafted player in NFL history with 100+ scrimmage yards in each of their first two games and on December 18, 2018, Lindsay was voted to the
2019 Pro Bowl, making him the first undrafted offensive rookie in NFL history to be voted to a Pro Bowl.
After getting off to a strong start, their
2018 season was up and down, eventually finishing with a 6–10 record and placing third in the
AFC West
The American Football Conference – Western Division or AFC West is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The division comprises the Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, ...
. Coupled with the 5–11 season in
2017, the Broncos had back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since
1971 *
The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses ( February 10, and August 6).
The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history.
Events
J ...
–
1972. Shortly after the conclusion of the regular season, head coach
Vance Joseph
Vance Desmond Joseph (born September 20, 1972) is an American football coach and former player who is the defensive coordinator of the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). Previously he was the head coach of the Denver Bronco ...
was fired after recording a poor 11–21 record in two seasons.
Walton-Penner era (2019–present)
On January 10, 2019, the Broncos hired
Chicago Bears defensive coordinator
Vic Fangio to become the 17th head coach in franchise history.
Fangio was chosen over
Mike Munchak, the Broncos' offensive line coach. Fangio received a four-year contract with a team option for an additional season.
On February 13, 2019,
Joe Flacco was announced as the new starting quarterback. On October 6, 2019, the Broncos defeated the
Los Angeles Chargers for their 500th win, bringing their win–loss record to 500–432.
On December 1, 2019, the Broncos started
Mizzou rookie quarterback
Drew Lock
Andrew Stephen Lock (born November 10, 1996) is an American football quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Missouri and was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the second round o ...
for the first time. He led the Broncos to a 4–1 record to end the
2019 season. The Broncos finished 2nd place in the AFC West Division at 7–9, missing the playoffs for a fourth consecutive year. In five games, Lock finished with 1,020 passing yards, seven touchdowns, and three interceptions.
Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
, the
2020 NFL season did not have a preseason or full training camps, which likely contributed to an abnormally large amount of injuries that plagued the Broncos and other NFL teams. Star
linebacker Von Miller suffered a season-ending ankle tendon injury before the regular season started, and starting
wide receiver Courtland Sutton suffered a season-ending torn
ACL during a week two game.
On November 29, 2020, after all three of the Broncos'
quarterbacks were placed in COVID-19 protocol, the Broncos were forced to turn to undrafted wide receiver and former college quarterback
Kendall Hinton as the emergency quarterback. Hinton completed only one pass for 13 yards in 9 attempts—the fewest pass completions in a single game in franchise history—and was intercepted twice. The Broncos' only scoring play was a 58-yard field goal by
placekicker Brandon McManus
Brandon Tyler McManus (born July 25, 1991) is an American football placekicker for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He was a member of their Super Bowl 50 championship team, beating the Carolina Panthers, and as of 2022, ...
in a 31–3 loss to the
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
. In July 2021, the
Pro Football Hall of Fame announced that Hinton's quarterback wristband would be added to the Hall of Fame as part of a display.
The Broncos finished the 2020 season with a record of 5–11, last in the
AFC West
The American Football Conference – Western Division or AFC West is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The division comprises the Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, ...
, and missed the playoffs for the fifth consecutive year.
Following another season of uninspiring
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Am ...
performances, the Broncos were the subject of multiple quarterback trade rumors during the 2021 offseason.
Aaron Rodgers and
Deshaun Watson were two names rumored to be of interest for the Broncos, but ultimately the Broncos traded for quarterback
Teddy Bridgewater on April 28, 2021. Bridgewater won the subsequent quarterback competition between himself and
Drew Lock
Andrew Stephen Lock (born November 10, 1996) is an American football quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Missouri and was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the second round o ...
during the preseason, and he was named the Broncos' starting quarterback on August 25, 2021.
The Broncos also made notable improvements in the
defensive secondary, signing former All-Pro
cornerback
A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...
Kyle Fuller
Kyle Brandon Fuller (born February 16, 1992) is an American football cornerback for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft and played college fo ...
and
cornerback
A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...
Ronald Darby
Ronald Darby (born January 2, 1994) is an American football cornerback for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida State and was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the second round of the 2015 ...
, as well as drafting
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = " Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County
, LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham
, area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...
cornerback
Patrick Surtain II with the ninth overall pick in the
2021 NFL Draft
The 2021 NFL Draft was the 86th National Football League Draft, the annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 NFL season. The draft was held in Cleveland from April 29 to May 1, 20 ...
.
Running back
A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball,
and block. Th ...
Phillip Lindsay was replaced by
UNC UNC is a three-letter abbreviation that may refer to:
Education
* University of Northern California (disambiguation), which may refer to:
** University of Northern California (Santa Rosa), in Petaluma, California, United States
** University of No ...
rookie
running back
A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball,
and block. Th ...
Javonte Williams, who was drafted in the second round of the
2021 NFL Draft
The 2021 NFL Draft was the 86th National Football League Draft, the annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 NFL season. The draft was held in Cleveland from April 29 to May 1, 20 ...
by the Broncos.
On October 31, 2021,
Peyton Manning (who won two AFC Championships,
Super Bowl 50, and an
NFL MVP during his four seasons as a Bronco) was inducted to the Broncos'
Ring of Fame during a game against
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
.
On November 1, 2021, the Broncos traded franchise legend
Von Miller to the
Los Angeles Rams in exchange for a 2nd and 3rd round pick in the
2022 NFL Draft
The 2022 NFL Draft was the 87th edition of the National Football League's annual draft and was held from April 28–30, 2022, at the Caesars Forum on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The first round was held on Thursday, April 28, and ...
. At the time of the trade, Miller was the longest-tenured Bronco on the team, and the only remaining non-special teams player from Denver's
Super Bowl 50 roster.
After another mediocre performance in the
2021 season with the Broncos going 7–10, head coach
Vic Fangio was dismissed on January 8, 2022 after losing to the
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division.
The t ...
. The Broncos announced the hiring of
Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator
Nathaniel Hackett as head coach on January 27, 2022.
The Broncos then announced on February 1, 2022 that they were now up for sale and that they would be parting ways with the Bowlen family, the former owners of the franchise.
Hackett's first hire as head coach was
Justin Outten as offensive coordinator. He was hired on February 2, 2022.
On March 16, 2022, the Broncos traded
Drew Lock
Andrew Stephen Lock (born November 10, 1996) is an American football quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Missouri and was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the second round o ...
,
Noah Fant
Noah Fant (born November 20, 1997) is an American football tight end for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Iowa, and was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the first round of the 2019 NFL Dr ...
,
Shelby Harris
Shelby Harris (born August 11, 1991) is an American football defensive end for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Illinois State and was selected in the seventh round of the 2014 NFL Draft ...
, Denver's 2022 first-round pick (No. 9), its 2022 second-round pick (No. 40), its 2023 first- and second-round picks, and its 2022 fifth-round round pick for
Russell Wilson and the
Seattle Seahawks' 2022 fourth-round pick.
On June 7, 2022, the Broncos announced that the Walton-Penner family, led by
Rob Walton, had entered in an agreement to acquire the Denver Broncos for $4.65 billion (a North American record) subject to approval by the NFL Finance Committee and 3/4 of the league's team owners. The Broncos announced that
Condoleezza Rice would join the ownership group on July 11, 2022.
On August 10, 2022, the Broncos formally introduced the new ownership group to the media and Denver community. The full group comprises
Rob Walton,
Carrie Walton Penner,
Greg Penner,
Mellody Hobson
Mellody Hobson (born April 3, 1969) is an American businesswoman who is president and co-CEO of Ariel Investments, and the chairwoman of Starbucks Corporation. She is the former chairwoman of DreamWorks Animation, having stepped down after negot ...
,
Condoleezza Rice and
Lewis Hamilton.
Rivalries
Divisional
The Denver Broncos have three
AFC West
The American Football Conference – Western Division or AFC West is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The division comprises the Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, ...
rivals—the
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division.
The t ...
,
Las Vegas Raiders and
Los Angeles Chargers. All teams, along with the Broncos, were charter members of the
American Football League (AFL), with each team placed in the AFL Western Division. The Broncos were barely competitive during the AFL years (1960–69), going a combined 10–49–1 against the Chiefs, Chargers and Raiders.
Kansas City Chiefs
The Broncos have had several memorable matchups with the Chiefs, particularly during the years in which
John Elway was the Broncos' starting
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Am ...
(1983–98). The Broncos defeated the Chiefs at
Arrowhead Stadium
Arrowhead Stadium is an American football stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. It primarily serves as the home venue of the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). The stadium has been officially named GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stad ...
in the divisional round of the
1997 NFL playoffs, en route to their first
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the gam ...
victory. The Chiefs currently hold a 69–55 series lead over the Broncos, including the aforementioned 1997 divisional playoff game.
Las Vegas Raiders
The rivalry with the Raiders was ignited in , when the Broncos advanced to their first
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the gam ...
by defeating the defending champion Raiders in the
1977 AFC Championship. The rivalry intensified in the mid-1990s, when
Mike Shanahan
Michael Edward Shanahan (born August 24, 1952) is a former American football coach, best known as the head coach of the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL) from 1995 to 2008. During his fourteen seasons with the Broncos, he le ...
was hired as the Broncos'
head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in asso ...
in
1995. Shanahan coached the Raiders in before being fired four games into the season. The Raiders currently hold a 70–54–2 series lead over the Broncos, including 1–1 in the playoffs.
Los Angeles Chargers
Unlike their records against the Chiefs and Raiders, the Broncos currently have a winning record against the Chargers, with a 70–54–1 series lead, including 1–0 in the playoffs. The Broncos pulled off one of the largest comebacks in
Monday Night Football
''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, ...
history, when
Peyton Manning led the Broncos from a 24–0 halftime deficit to a 35–24 win at
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...
's
Qualcomm Stadium
San Diego Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium on the west coast of the United States, in San Diego, California. The stadium opened in 1967 as San Diego Stadium and was known as Jack Murphy Stadium from 1981 to 1997. From 1997 to 2017, the st ...
during the season. The two teams met in the playoffs for the first time on January 12, 2014, at
Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
's
Sports Authority Field at Mile High
Empower Field at Mile High (previously known as Broncos Stadium at Mile High, Invesco Field at Mile High and Sports Authority Field at Mile High, and commonly known as Mile High, New Mile High or Mile High Stadium) is an American football stadiu ...
, with the Broncos winning 24–17.
Historical
Aside from the aforementioned
AFC West
The American Football Conference – Western Division or AFC West is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The division comprises the Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, ...
teams, the Broncos have had intra-conference rivalries over the years with the
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conferenc ...
,
Pittsburgh Steelers and
New England Patriots. The Broncos and
Seattle Seahawks were also former AFC West rivals from 1977–2001, after which Seattle was realigned to the
NFC West
The National Football Conference - Western Division or NFC West is one of the four divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It currently has four members: the Arizona Cardinals, the Los Ang ...
.
Cleveland Browns
The Broncos had a brief rivalry with the Browns that arose from three
AFC
AFC may stand for:
Organizations
* Action for Children, a UK children's charity
* AFC Enterprises, the franchisor of Popeye's Chicken and Biscuits
* Africa Finance Corporation, a pan-African multilateral development finance institution
* A ...
championship matches in 1986, 1987 and 1989. In the
1986 AFC Championship,
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Am ...
John Elway led ''
The Drive'' to secure a tie in the waning moments at
Cleveland Municipal Stadium; the Broncos went on to win in 23–20 in overtime. One year later, the two teams met again in the
1987 AFC Championship at
Mile High Stadium
Mile High Stadium (originally Bears Stadium until 1968) was an outdoor multi-purpose stadium located in Denver, Colorado from 1948 to 2001.
The stadium was built in 1948 to accommodate the Denver Bears baseball team, which was a member of the ...
. Denver took a 21–3 lead, but Browns' quarterback
Bernie Kosar threw four touchdown passes to tie the game at 31–31 halfway through the 4th quarter. After a long drive, John Elway threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to running back
Sammy Winder to give Denver a 38–31 lead. Cleveland advanced to Denver's 8-yard line with 1:12 left, but Broncos' safety
Jeremiah Castille
Jeremiah Castille ( ; born January 15, 1961 in Columbus, Georgia) is a former American professional football cornerback from the University of Alabama, Castille was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the third round of the 1983 NFL Draft. H ...
stripped Browns' running back
Earnest Byner of the football at the 2-yard line—a play that has been called ''
The Fumble
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
'' by Browns' fans. The Broncos recovered it, gave Cleveland an intentional safety, and went on to win 38–33. The two teams met yet again in the
1989 AFC Championship at Mile High Stadium, which the Broncos easily won by a score of 37–21. The Broncos did not win the Super Bowl after any of the championship games where they defeated the Browns, losing by an aggregate of 136–40.
Pittsburgh Steelers
As of the end of the season, the Broncos and
Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...
have met in postseason play eight times, tied with five other pairings for the second–
most frequent playoff matchups in
NFL playoff history. The Broncos currently own a 5–3 playoff record vs. the Steelers. Perhaps the most memorable postseason matchup occurred in the
1997 AFC Championship, in which the Broncos defeated the Steelers 24–21 at
Three Rivers Stadium, en route to their first
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the gam ...
victory. Eight years later, the Steelers returned the favor at
INVESCO Field at Mile High, defeating the Broncos 34–17 in the
2005 AFC Championship, and subsequently won
Super Bowl XL. In the Wild Card round of the
2011 playoffs, in a game dubbed ''The 3:16 game'', the Broncos stunned the Steelers 29–23 on the first play of overtime, when
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Am ...
Tim Tebow connected with
wide receiver Demaryius Thomas on an 80-yard game-winning touchdown pass. The teams met again in the Divisional round of the
2015 playoffs at Denver, where the Broncos defeated the Steelers 23–16 on their way to a victory in
Super Bowl 50.
New England Patriots
The Broncos and Patriots met twice annually during the
American Football League (AFL) years from 1960 to 1969, and played in the first-ever AFL game on September 9, 1960. Since , the two teams have met frequently during the regular season, including nine consecutive seasons from 1995 to 2003. As of the end of the season, the two teams have met in the playoffs five times, with the Broncos owning a 4–1 record. The teams' first playoff match on January 4, 1987 was
John Elway's first career playoff win, while the teams' second playoff match on January 14, 2006 game was the Broncos' first playoff win since Elway's retirement after the
1998 season. The game was also notable for
Champ Bailey's 100-yard interception that resulted in a touchdown-saving tackle by
Benjamin Watson at the 1-yard line. On October 11, 2009, the two teams met with former Patriots' offensive coordinator,
Josh McDaniels as the Broncos'
head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in asso ...
. Both teams wore their
AFL
AFL may refer to:
Sports
* American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues:
** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...
50th anniversary jerseys. The game featured a 98-yard drive in the fourth quarter, with a game-tying touchdown pass from
Kyle Orton
Kyle Raymond Orton (born November 14, 1982) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football for Purdue, where he started four straight bowl games. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the fourth round of the 2005 NFL D ...
to
Brandon Marshall, followed by an overtime drive led by Orton that resulted in a 41-yard game-winning field goal by
Matt Prater. The two teams met in the Divisional round of the
2011 playoffs, with the Patriots blowing out
Tim Tebow and the Broncos by a score of 45–10.
The Broncos' rivalry with the Patriots later intensified when longtime
Indianapolis Colts' quarterback
Peyton Manning became the Broncos' starting
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Am ...
from 2012 to 2015. Manning and Patriots' quarterback
Tom Brady maintained a legendary
rivalry from until Manning's retirement after the season. Though Brady dominated Manning in regular season play, winning nine of twelve meetings, Manning won three of five playoff meetings, including the Broncos' 26–16 win in the 2013 AFC Championship and the Broncos' 20–18 win in the
2015 AFC Championship.
Seattle Seahawks
The Broncos had an old rivalry with the
Seattle Seahawks, who were members of the
AFC West
The American Football Conference – Western Division or AFC West is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The division comprises the Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, ...
from 1977 to 2001, prior to the Seahawks' move to the
NFC West
The National Football Conference - Western Division or NFC West is one of the four divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It currently has four members: the Arizona Cardinals, the Los Ang ...
as part of the
NFL's re-alignment. During the 25 years in which the Seahawks resided in the AFC West, the Broncos went 32–18 against the Seahawks, including a loss at Seattle in the
1983 NFL playoffs. Since 2002, the Broncos have won three of five interconference meetings, and the two teams met in
Super Bowl XLVIII on February 2, 2014, with the Seahawks winning by a score of 43–8.
Facilities
For most of their history, the Denver Broncos played in
Mile High Stadium
Mile High Stadium (originally Bears Stadium until 1968) was an outdoor multi-purpose stadium located in Denver, Colorado from 1948 to 2001.
The stadium was built in 1948 to accommodate the Denver Bears baseball team, which was a member of the ...
. The
AFL
AFL may refer to:
Sports
* American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues:
** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...
Broncos played at the
University of Denver's
Hilltop Stadium from time to time, including the first victory of an AFL team over an
NFL team: The Broncos beat the
Detroit Lions on August 5, 1967, in a preseason game. The team has sold out every home game (including post-season games) since the
AFL–NFL merger in , with the exception of two replacement games during the strike (but both were sold out before the strike).
During home games, the attendance is announced to the crowd, along with the number of no-shows (the fans subsequently boo the no-shows). The fans are also known to chant "IN-COM-PLETE!" every time the visiting team throws an
incomplete pass. The stadium's legendary home-field advantage is regarded as one of the best in the NFL, especially during the playoffs. The Broncos had the best home record in pro football over a 32-year span from 1974 to 2006 (191–65–1). Mile High Stadium was one of the NFL's loudest stadiums, with steel flooring instead of
concrete
Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wid ...
, which may have given the Broncos an advantage over opponents, plus the advantage of altitude conditioning for the Broncos. In , the team moved into then-named
Invesco Field at Mile High, built next to the former site of the since-demolished Mile High Stadium. Sportswriter
Woody Paige
Woodrow Wilson Paige, Jr. (born June 27, 1946) is a sports columnist for '' The Gazette'', author, and a regular panelist on the ESPN sports-talk program ''Around the Horn''. He was a columnist for the ''Denver Post'' for 35 years, and co-host o ...
, along with many of Denver's fans, however, often refused to call the stadium by its full name, preferring to use "Mile High Stadium" because of its storied history and sentimental import. Additionally, ''
The Denver Post'' had an official policy of referring to the stadium as simply "Mile High Stadium" in protest, but dropped this policy in 2004.
Prior to the
2011 season,
Englewood-based
sporting goods retail
Retail is the sale of goods and Service (economics), services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturing, manufacturers, dire ...
er
Sports Authority claimed the
naming rights
Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization whereby a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event, typically for a defined period of ...
of Invesco Field, which became known as Sports Authority Field at Mile High. However, in the summer of 2016, Sports Authority went bankrupt, the stadium was renamed Broncos Stadium at Mile High, and the Broncos sought out a naming rights sponsor until September 2019 when they agreed to rename the stadium Empower Field at Mile High.
The altitude has also been attributed as part of the team's home success. The stadium displays multiple references to the stadium's location of above sea level, including a prominent mural just outside the visiting team's locker room. The team training facility, the UCHealth Training Center (formerly known as the Paul D. Bowlen Memorial Broncos Centre), is a state-of-the-art facility located in
Dove Valley. With of property, the facility hosts three full-size fields, a complete weight and training facility, and a cafeteria.
In their more than half-century of existence, the Broncos have never been shut out at home, a streak of over 400 games as of the season.
In late 2012, the Broncos announced that the stadium would receive $30 million upgrades including a new video board in the south end zone three times larger than the previous display. The renovations were finished before kickoff of the 2013 season.
Logos and uniforms
1968–1996
When the Broncos debuted in , their original uniforms drew as much attention as their play on the field. They featured white and mustard yellow jerseys, with contrasting brown helmets, brown pants and vertically striped socks. Two years later, the team unveiled a new logo featuring a bucking horse, and changed their team colors to orange, royal blue and white. The uniform consisted of white pants, orange helmets, and either orange or white jerseys.
In , the Broncos debuted a design that became known as the "Orange Crush". Their logo was redesigned so that the horse was coming out of a "D." Additionally, the helmets were changed to royal blue, with thin stripes placed onto the sleeves, and other minor modifications were added. From 1969 to 1971, and again from 1978 to 1979, the team wore orange pants with their white jerseys.
The facemasks became white (from grey) in 1975.
The Broncos wore their white jerseys at home throughout the season, as well as for home games vs. the
San Diego Chargers and
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...
, the latter in hopes to bring out the "blue jersey jinx" which has followed the Cowboys for decades (it worked, the Broncos won 41–20). The Broncos wore their white jerseys for home games vs. the
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...
,
Los Angeles Raiders and
Cincinnati Bengals, but did not wear white at home again for two decades — ''see next section''.
In , in honor of the 75th anniversary season of the
NFL, the Broncos wore their
throwback uniforms for two games—a Week 3 home game against the Raiders, as well a road game at the
Buffalo Bills the following week.
1997–2011
The Broncos radically changed their logo and uniforms in , a design that the team continues to use to this day. The new logos and uniforms were unveiled on February 4, 1997. Navy blue replaced royal blue on the team's color scheme. The current logo is a profile of a horse's head, with an orange mane and navy blue outlines.
The Broncos' popular live animal mascot
Thunder was the inspiration to incorporate a horse-head profile as part of the logo on the team's helmets.
During a February 4, 1997 press conference introducing the new logo, the team president and the art director for
Nike, who were the creators of the new design, described it as "a powerful horse with a fiery eye and mane."
The Broncos began wearing navy blue jerseys, replacing their longtime orange jerseys that had been the team's predominant home jersey color since 1962. This new uniform design features a new word mark, numbering font and a streak that runs up and down the sides of both the jerseys and the pants. On the navy blue jerseys, the streak is orange, with an orange collar and white numerals trimmed in orange, while on the road white jerseys, the streak is navy blue, with a thin orange accent strip on both sides, a navy collar and navy numerals trimmed in orange; the helmet facemasks became navy blue. When they debuted, these uniforms were vilified by the press and fans, until the Broncos won their first-ever
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the gam ...
in the new design that same season. The navy blue jerseys served as the team's primary home jersey until the end of the season — ''see next section''.
In , the Broncos introduced an alternate orange jersey that is a mirror image of the aforementioned navy blue jerseys, but with orange and navy trading places. Like the road white jerseys, the white pants with the navy blue streaks running down the sides are worn with this uniform. This jersey was used only once in the 2002 and seasons, and were used twice per season from 2008 to 2011.
Mike Shanahan
Michael Edward Shanahan (born August 24, 1952) is a former American football coach, best known as the head coach of the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL) from 1995 to 2008. During his fourteen seasons with the Broncos, he le ...
, the team's
head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in asso ...
from 1995 to 2008, was not a big fan of the alternate orange jerseys. The Broncos previously wore orange jerseys as a throwback uniform in a
Thanksgiving Day game at the
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...
in .
The team also introduced navy blue pants in , with orange side streaks to match with the navy blue jerseys. Though they were part of the uniform change in 1997 (in fact, they were worn for a couple of 1997 preseason games) and most players wanted to wear them, the only player who vetoed wearing them was
John Elway, thereby delaying their eventual introduction.
From 2003 to 2011, these pants were primarily used for select prime-time and late-season home games (excluding the season), and since , are used exclusively with the now-alternate navy blue jerseys — ''see next section''.
On November 16, 2003, the Broncos wore their white jerseys at home for the first time since , in a game vs. the
San Diego Chargers. This was compensation for a uniform mix-up, after the teams' first meeting at
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...
's
Qualcomm Stadium
San Diego Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium on the west coast of the United States, in San Diego, California. The stadium opened in 1967 as San Diego Stadium and was known as Jack Murphy Stadium from 1981 to 1997. From 1997 to 2017, the st ...
in Week 2 earlier that season, when the Chargers were the team that was supposed to declare their uniform color. The Chargers were planning to wear their white jerseys, but the visiting Broncos came to the stadium in white, and were fined
$25,000 by the
NFL as a result. When the two teams met at
INVESCO Field at Mile High later that season (Week 11), the NFL allowed the visiting Chargers to choose their uniform color in advance, and they chose navy blue, forcing the Broncos to wear their white jerseys at home.
In , in honor of their 50th anniversary season as one of the eight original
American Football League teams, the Broncos wore their 1960 throwback uniforms (brown helmets, mustard yellow and brown jerseys) for games against two fellow AFL rivals—a Week 5 home game vs. the
New England Patriots, as well as the following week at the San Diego Chargers.
2012–present
Beginning in , the orange jerseys that served as the alternate colored jerseys from 2002 to 2011 became the primary home jersey, while the navy blue jerseys that served as the primary home jersey from 1997 to 2011 switched to alternate designation. The change was made due to overwhelming popularity with the fans, who pressured the Broncos to return to orange as the team's primary home jersey color.
Since the 2012 uniform change, the team has worn the alternate navy blue jerseys for at least one home game per season, with the exception of , in which the Broncos wore their alternate navy blue uniforms for an October 6, 2013 road game at the
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...
, which the Broncos won in a shootout, 51–48. The team will either wear the navy blue or the white pants — with the orange side stripes — to match with the alternate navy blue jerseys. The team initially did not wear the white pants with the orange side stripes, until a November 1, 2015 game vs. the
Green Bay Packers, in which the Broncos wore said design in order to match the uniform ensemble that was used during the team's
Super Bowl XXXII win over the Packers. On October 30, 2022, the Broncos debuted a new combination of white jerseys and alternate navy blue pants in a
NFL London Game at the
Jacksonville Jaguars, with mismatched side stripes of navy blue (white jersey) and orange (navy blue pants).
As the designated home team in
Super Bowl 50, the Broncos — who have a 0–4
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the gam ...
record when using their standard orange jerseys — chose to wear their white jerseys as the designated "home" team.
In , the Broncos' unveiled a new
Color Rush uniform, which the team wore for a ''
Thursday Night'' game at the
San Diego Chargers on October 13, 2016. The uniform kit contained the following features: orange pants, which the team wore for the first time since 1979, orange socks and shoes, along with block-style numerals trimmed in navy blue that mirrored the team's 1968–1996 uniform style. Due to the
NFL's one-helmet rule implemented in 2013, the helmets remained the same, with the team temporarily replacing the modern primary logo with the throwback "D-horse" logo. The same uniform was used for a Thursday night game against the
Indianapolis Colts during the season and again during a 2018 game against the
Pittsburgh Steelers.
Super Bowl jersey colors
Statistics and records
Season-by-season records
Players of note
Current roster
50th Anniversary Team (2009)
The Denver Broncos announced the club's 50th anniversary team on September 15, 2009. The anniversary team was voted on by users at DenverBroncos.com from June 6 – September 4, 2009.
Retired numbers
† Note: No. 18 was re-issued for
Peyton Manning after Tripucka gave his approval; it was used by Manning from the
2012 season until his retirement after the
2015 season. Manning's name was added to the retired number's banner as an honorable mention.
Pro Football Hall of Famers
Ring of Fame
The Broncos have a Ring of Fame on the Level 5 facade of
Empower Field at Mile High
Empower Field at Mile High (previously known as Broncos Stadium at Mile High, Invesco Field at Mile High and Sports Authority Field at Mile High, and commonly known as Mile High, New Mile High or Mile High Stadium) is an American football stadiu ...
, which honors the following:
Super Bowl MVPs
Colorado Sports Hall of Fame
Staff and head coaches
Head coaches
The current head coach of the Broncos is
Nathaniel Hackett.
Current staff
In the media and popular culture
* Tim McKernan, a.k.a.
Barrel Man, began wearing a barrel in 1977 after making a $10 (equivalent to $ in ) bet with his brother, Scott, that by wearing one he could get on television. McKernan won the bet, and the barrel he had painted to look like an
Orange Crush soda can became his signature costume, and resulted in him becoming one of the Broncos' most recognized fans and a popular mascot. McKernan died on December 5, 2009.
* The animated television show ''
South Park'', set in
Park County, often mentions the Denver Broncos; show creators
Trey Parker and
Matt Stone both grew up in Colorado as devout Broncos fans.
* In ''
The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, ...
'' season 5 episode
Cape Feare
"Cape Feare" is the second episode of the fifth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 7, 1993. The episode features guest star Kelsey Grammer ...
, when the family are to be given new identities, Homer imagines himself as John Elway, scoring a (consolation) touchdown against San Francisco. Conversely, in the 1996 episode "
You Only Move Twice", Hank Scorpio gives Homer Simpson the Denver Broncos as a thank-you gift for helping him. However, Homer complains that he wanted to own the
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...
, as the Broncos team that just arrived are playing very sloppy football on his front lawn (a reference to the team losing four Super Bowl appearances, three by significant margins including
Super Bowl XII against Dallas). Incidentally, the Broncos were 13–3 in the 1996 season, and won the Super Bowl the next two seasons. Only two seasons later in the Super Bowl-centric episode "
Sunday, Cruddy Sunday
"Sunday, Cruddy Sunday" is the twelfth episode of the tenth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 31, 1999, just after Super Bowl XXXIII and the p ...
", Homer chooses Denver as his
Super Bowl XXXIII pick over Moe's choice of the
Atlanta Falcons. In the episode, "
The Bonfire of the Manatees", Homer picks the Broncos to win the Super Bowl over the
Seattle Seahawks. The two teams later did play against each other in
Super Bowl XLVIII which aired on
Fox, the U.S. home of ''The Simpsons''; but the result was a Seahawks victory instead.
* In the 1979 ''
Mork & Mindy'' episode "Hold That Mork", Mork's character, played by
Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...
, became the first male
cheerleader in Broncos' history. As a member of the "Pony Express", he trotted out on the field at
Mile High Stadium
Mile High Stadium (originally Bears Stadium until 1968) was an outdoor multi-purpose stadium located in Denver, Colorado from 1948 to 2001.
The stadium was built in 1948 to accommodate the Denver Bears baseball team, which was a member of the ...
during an actual Broncos' game vs. the
New England Patriots on November 11, 1979. The episode aired exactly two weeks later.
* Many former Broncos are now in broadcasting, including
Shannon Sharpe,
Mark Schlereth
Mark Fremont Schlereth (; born January 25, 1966) is a former professional American football player and current television and radio sportscaster. Schlereth played guard in the NFL for 12 seasons (1989–2000) with the Washington Redskins and Den ...
,
Alfred Williams,
Tom Jackson
Tom or TOM may refer to:
* Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name)
Characters
* Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head''
* Tom Beck, a character ...
,
Ed McCaffrey
Edward Thomas McCaffrey, Jr. (born August 17, 1968) is an American football coach and former wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for thirteen seasons. McCaffrey played college football for Stanford University and ear ...
,
Brian Griese,
David Diaz-Infante,
Terrell Davis
Terrell Lamar Davis (born October 28, 1972) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL) from 1995 to 2001. He is the Broncos all-time leading rusher and ...
and
Brandon Stokley
Brandon Ray Stokley (born June 23, 1976) is a former American football wide receiver and current radio personality. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the fourth round of the 1999 NFL Draft. He played college football at University of Lo ...
. Some former Broncos work in radio,
KKFN and
KDFD
KDFD (760 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Thornton, Colorado, and serving the Denver-Boulder metropolitan area. Owned by iHeartMedia, it broadcasts a conservative talk radio format. Its studios and offices are in Southeast Den ...
in Denver, Colorado.
* Former tight end and wide receiver
Nate Jackson
Nathan Ross Jackson (born June 4, 1979) is a writer and former American football tight end. Undrafted out of Menlo College in 2002, he spent most of his professional career with the Denver Broncos from 2003 to 2008 before injury problems end ...
has written and published two nonfiction books, ''Slow Getting Up'' and ''Fantasy Man''. His writing about the NFL has appeared in ''
Slate'',
''
Deadspin'', ''
The Daily Beast'',
''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'',
''
The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'',
and ''
BuzzFeed'', among others. Jackson also co-hosts the ''Caveman Poet Society''.
Radio and television
The Broncos' flagship radio station is currently
KOA
KOA (short for Kampgrounds of America) is an American franchise of privately owned campgrounds. Having more than 500 locations across the United States and Canada, it is the world's largest system of privately owned campgrounds. It was founded in ...
, 850AM, a 50,000-watt station owned by
iHeartMedia.
Dave Logan is the play-by-play announcer, with former Broncos' wide receiver
Ed McCaffrey
Edward Thomas McCaffrey, Jr. (born August 17, 1968) is an American football coach and former wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for thirteen seasons. McCaffrey played college football for Stanford University and ear ...
serving as the color commentator beginning in 2012, replacing
Brian Griese.
Ed McCaffrey was replaced by Rick Lewis. Until 2010, preseason games not selected for airing on national television were shown on
KCNC
KCNC-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Denver, Colorado, United States, airing programming from the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division, and maintains studios on Lincoln Street (between ...
, channel 4, which is a
CBS owned-and-operated station, as well as other CBS affiliates around the
Rocky Mountain region. On May 26, 2011, the Broncos announced that
KUSA channel 9, an
NBC affiliate also known as 9NEWS in the
Rocky Mountain region, will be the team's new television partner for preseason games.
In 2011, the Broncos began a partnership with
KJMN
KJMN (92.1 FM, "La Suavecita 92.1") is a radio station broadcasting a Spanish adult hits format licensed to Castle Rock, Colorado, United States, serving the Denver-Boulder area. The station is currently owned by Entravision Holdings, LLC. It ...
, 92.1 FM, a leading
Spanish language
Spanish ( or , Castilian) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from colloquial Latin spoken on the Iberian peninsula. Today, it is a global language with more than 500 million native speakers, mainly in the ...
radio station owned by
Entravision Communications (EVC). The partnership also includes broadcasting rights for a half-hour weekly TV show on
KCEC, the local
Univision
Univision () is an American Spanish-language free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the Latino public and include ...
affiliate operated by
Entravision Communications.
References
Notes
Further reading
* Dater, Adrian (2007) ''The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Denver Broncos: Heart-Pounding, Jaw-Dropping, and Gut-Wrenching Moments from Denver Broncos History''. Triumph Books.
* Frei, Terry (2009) ''77: Denver, The Broncos, and A Coming of Age'' . Taylor Trade Publishing.
*
Morton, Craig and Dater, Adrian (2008) ''Then Morton Said to Elway...: The Best Denver Broncos Stories Ever Told'',
Triumph Books
Triumph Books is a Chicago-based sports book publisher. The company is well known for its "instant books", such as its illustrated tribute to NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt, which was released 10 days after his death in a crash in the 2001 Dayton ...
.
* Saccomano, Jim (2007) ''Game of My Life: Denver Broncos: Memorable Stories of Broncos Football''. Sports Publishing LLC.
* Saccomano, Jim and
Elway, John (2009) ''Denver Broncos: The Complete Illustrated History''. MBI Publishing Company,
* Sandler, Michael (2007) ''John Elway and the Denver Broncos: Super Bowl XXXIII''. Bearport Publishing Company.
* Stewart, Mark (2006)''The Denver Broncos''. Norwood House Press.
* Zimmer, Larry (2004) ''Denver Broncos: Colorful Tales of the Orange and Blue''. Globe Pequot Press.
External links
*
Denver Broncosat the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...
official website
{{Portal bar, American football, Colorado
American Football League teams
National Football League teams
American football teams in Denver
Companies based in Arapahoe County, Colorado
American football teams established in 1960
1960 establishments in Colorado
2022 mergers and acquisitions