Broncos to donate 15,000 helmets to Colorado high school football teams

The Denver Broncos Foundation announced today it will donate 15,000 new helmets across all 277 Colorado high schools, a nearly $12M expenditure that ranks as the largest philanthropic move yet for the charitable arm of the team.

The initiative is branded “All In. All Covered,” and will roll out the helmets over a four-year period starting this year in cooperation with manufacturer Riddell and the Colorado High School Activities Association. All helmets will be Riddell’s Axiom model, which were rated in the top tier of overall safest helmets this season by the NFLPA and NFL.

This initiative follows the team’s efforts earlier in the Walton-Penner ownership group’s tenure to expand girls flag football in the Colorado, and grew out of a strategic planning discussion about how to best support tackle football.

“We’re wanting to make the game as safe as possible and wanting to grow the game, and making sure that parents, administrators and coaches understand this is one the most innovative and safe helmets that’s out there,” said co-owner and foundation board chair Carrie Walton Penner. “I think it gives parents a little bit more comfort if they have questions about whether or not their children should play tackle football.”

Next month, the foundation will conduct a series of six events to introduce high schools and families to the program. Every school will receive 25% of their allotment in each of the next four years, beginning in May.

Helmets can cost up to $1,000, and typically are the biggest barrier to entry for players in scholastic football, said Broncos President Damani Leech. Even for those able to afford a helmet, their reliability and quality is a big concern for families concerned about player safety and head trauma. “Being able to do something that will mitigate those concerns was pretty important to us,” Leech said.

The $12M price tag marks a steep change in giving for the Broncos foundation, which announced $5M in total philanthropy in 2023. It’s the largest single initiative in the foundation’s history, eclipsing the estimated $8M-$10M the foundation spent since 2023 supporting a Boys & Girls Club chapter.

Walton Penner said the helmets program is an indication of how they intend to run the foundation in the future.

“We’re really excited about this,” Walton Penner said. “It feels like a capstone program, and it really kind of establishes what we want to do, and how we’re focusing on on being a good partner across the state, and really thinking about youth.”

When Rob Walton, Walton Penner and Greg Penner and other investors acquired the Broncos from the Pat Bowlen Trust in 2002 for $4.65B, they became the wealthiest ownership group in the NFL. Rob Walton, who turned over the controlling owner designation to Penner in 2023, is worth an estimated $115B, according to Bloomberg.