The Lead

As Greg Penner enters his fourth season as the Broncos' Owner & CEO, he has already earned recognition as one of the league's most influential figures.

Yahoo Sports' Charles Robinson and Jori Epstein — via conversations with dozens of sources — recently identified the 25 Game Changers who will shape the NFL in both 2025 and beyond, and Penner was the lone NFL owner to earn a spot on the list.

"Despite controlling the Broncos since only August of 2022, Penner earned multiple nominations for this list from the coaching, executive and business operations ranks from across the league," Robinson wrote.

Penner's involvement at the league level has only grown, as he was recently appointed to the league's prestigious Management Council Executive Committee. The committee manages the league's relationship with the NFLPA, as well as the contract with the union.

"Beyond Penner's steadying hand inside the organization, the level of trust he's built with other club owners has drawn envy from many within the league," Robinson wrote. "One NFC team president with a high level of involvement in NFL meetings told Yahoo Sports: 'As some of the ownership dynamics change, I think [Penner] will end up being one of the people who can settle a room and help carve out a consensus. And that's real [ownership] power in this league.'"

Robinson also notes Penner's commitment to providing the Broncos with necessary resources while also "empowering his coaching staff and front office to run the team's operations." The Walton-Penner Family Ownership Group previously committed more than $100 million to upgrade Empower Field at Mile High and is in the midst of building a new, state-of-the-art Broncos Park Powered by CommonSpirit.

"I think I have the best owner in the league," Head Coach Sean Payton said recently. "Just look around [the Denver facility] and you can see there's nothing he won't do to give you everything you need to be successful."

For more on Yahoo Sports' Game Changers to watch in 2025, click here.