Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen has ceded control of the organization to team president Joe Ellis. The Broncos revealed in a statement Wednesday that Bowlen has been battling Alzheimer's disease, according to both the Denver Post and ESPN.
The Broncos announced Bowlen, who's owned the team since 1984, has been dealing with the onset of Alzheimer's disease for the past couple years and would be handing over control of the day-to-day operations to Ellis.
"In recent years, Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen has taken a reduced role with his team while courageously and privately battling Alzheimer's disease," the team said Wednesday in a statement, via ESPN. "The Broncos are very saddened that Mr. Bowlen is no longer able to be part of the team's daily operations due to his condition. We continue to offer our full support, compassion and respect to 'Mr. B,' who has faced Alzheimer's disease with such dignity and strength."
Bowlen saw the Broncos to six Super Bowls, including back-to-back wins in 1997 and 1998. He acknowledged in 2009 he was struggling with short-term memory loss.
Ellis, who will now oversee the day-to-day operations of the team, has a long history with the franchise. He worked as the team's marketing director from 1983 to 1985, then as the team's executive vice president of business operations in 1998 before being promoted to chief operating office in 2008 and finally to president in 2011.
"It's a really, really sad day," Ellis said of Bowlen stepping down, via a statement released to The Post. "It's sad for his family, his wife and his seven children. It's sad for everyone in the organization. And it's sad for all the Bronco fans who know what Pat Bowlen meant to them as an owner. It's a day nobody wanted to see happen."
