Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice joins Denver Broncos ownership group

Condoleezza Rice is now a part owner of the Denver Broncos.

The former U.S. Secretary of State officially joined the new ownership group of the Broncos on Monday, the team announced. Rice joins the group led by Walmart heir Rob Walton and his family.

“We’re pleased to welcome former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to our ownership group,” Rob Walton said in a statement. “A highly respected public servant, accomplished academic and corporate leader, Secretary Rice is well known as a passionate and knowledgeable football fan who has worked to make the sport stronger and better. She is the daughter of a football coach and served on the inaugural College Football Playoff Committee. She moved to Denver with her family when she was 12 years old and went on to attend the University of Denver for both college and graduate school.

“Her unique experience and extraordinary judgment will be a great benefit to our group and the Broncos organization."

Rice also served as the national security adviser for President George W. Bush before she was Secretary of State, and was also the Provost of Stanford University.

"It is an honor to be part of this ownership group," Rice said in a statement. "Football has been an integral part of my life since the moment it was introduced to me, and I am thrilled to be a part of the Broncos organization today. I spent much of my younger years in Denver, so to be able to combine my love of the game with my love for this great city and team is an adventure of a lifetime and a great opportunity."

Rice is the latest to join the new ownership group, which has agreed to purchase the Broncos for $4.65 billion. That figure sets a record for the sale of an American sports team, more than doubling the previous record set when the Brooklyn Nets were sold for about $2.3 billion. Chelsea FC was sold earlier this year for a record deal worth more than $5 billion.

The Broncos were last valued at $3.75 billion by Forbes, which makes them the 10th most valuable team in the NFL. The Dallas Cowboys led that list at $6.5 billion.

The ownership group includes Rob Walton, his daughter and her husband, Carrie Walton Penner and Greg Penner, and the co-CEO of Ariel Investments and chair of the board of Starbucks Mellody Hobson.

It’s unclear what role Rice will have in running the team. The sale is still pending.