Seven-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton has joined the ownership group of the National Football League’s Denver Broncos, the team announced Tuesday.
Rob Walton announced the addition of Hamilton as a limited shareholder in a statement issued on behalf of the Walton-Penner family-owned group.
“[Hamilton] is a champion competitor who knows what it takes to lead a winning team and a fierce advocate for global equality, including in his own sport,” Walton said in a statement.
“With over 100 race wins, Lewis is regarded as the most successful F1 driver of all time. His resilient spirit and standard of excellence will be an asset to the ownership group and the Broncos organization “.
The Walton-Penner Group agreed to buy the team from the Patrick D Bowlen Trust last month for 3.81 billion pounds ($4.65 billion) in the world’s most expensive deal for a sports franchise, eclipsing the 2.5 billion pounds ($3.1 billion). sale of Chelsea to a US-led consortium led by Los Angeles Dodgers owner Todd Boehly this year.
In April, Hamilton and tennis star Serena Williams joined a consortium led by former British Airways chairman Martin Broughton to buy Chelsea which was among the final three shortlisted bids. But it was scrapped after its reliance on a 500 million pound ($611 million) loan from three U.S. banks was revealed.
Broncos star quarterback Russell Wilson celebrated the addition of Hamilton to team ownership before practice Tuesday morning. Wilson and his wife, Ciara, were invited by Hamilton’s Mercedes racing team to this year’s Monaco Grand Prix.
Hamilton, whose 103 grand prix wins are the most in F1 history, becomes the third known limited shareholder to join the ownership group of the three-time Super Bowl champions after Condoleezza Rice, who serving as US Secretary of State under George W Bush from 2005 to 2009, and co-CEO of Ariel Investments and President of Starbucks, Mellody Hobson.
The Broncos’ ownership group is led by Walton and includes his daughter, Carrie Walton Penner, and her husband, Greg Penner. Walton, 77, was chairman of Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, from 1992 until his retirement in 2015. He is the eldest son of founder Sam Walton and Helen Walton and has an estimated net worth of nearly £49 billion ($60 billion).
The NFL is expected to fully approve the buyout agreement with the Walton-Penner group at a league meeting next Tuesday in Minneapolis, the final step after receiving approval from the league’s finance committee last week.