DENVER — There will be no family wager.
“No. Absolutely not,’’ said Jarrett Stidham, the Broncos’ backup quarterback, at his locker Thursday.
This Stidham-Brown family, after all, is also part of the NFL, an institution that prohibits gambling— at least internally.
Stidham is the son-in-law of Tad Brown, who as CEO of the Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment group, is essentially the CEO of the Washington Commanders— the Broncos’ opponent this Sunday afternoon at Empower Field at Mile High.
“We kind of have a divided family this weekend, I guess,’’ Stidham said with a smile at his locker Thursday. “It’s funny, when they bought the team I saw that they were on the schedule. It was the first time I was able to talk crap a little bit to my father-in-law. It will be fun.”
>Video above: Denver fans show off team spirit
Actually, the Josh Harris/David Blitzer sports group officially own the NHL New Jersey Devils and NBA Philadelphia 76ers, but the NFL doesn’t allow institutional ownership so Harris and his numerous partners officially bought the team as collective individuals. The Commanders’ ownership group includes Harris, Earvin “Magic” Johnson and Blitzer. Harris is the controlling partner, but make no mistake, Brown is his right-hand man.
When the Harris group visited the Broncos’ facilities as a potential ownership group in the spring of 2022, Brown was part of the contingency. The Broncos’ franchise was instead sold to the Walton-Penner family with sources saying it's fair to characterize Josh Harris as finishing second.
The Harris group rebounded a year later by buying the Commanders from the embattled Dan Snyder for $6.05 billion.
Brown was a longtime top executive with the NBA Houston Rockets from 2002-2021, at which point he became CEO of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment. His daughter Kennedy was a soccer player at Baylor in 2015 when she met one of the football team’s quarterbacks.
“We had a class together my freshman year,’’ said Stidham. “That’s how we met.”
He transferred first to a community college, then Auburn, where he was a two-year starter and played well enough to become a fourth-round draft pick of the New England Patriots. Jarrett got his degree at Auburn prior to his senior playing season while Kennedy stayed at Baylor to complete her degree. They married and have a daughter, Lennon Love, who is 18 months old.
Has there been some family smack talk between Stidham and Brown this week?
“A little bit. He’s flying into town either [Friday] or Saturday and he’s staying with us,’’ Stidham said. “He’s coming to the game and also to see his granddaughter.’’
Stidham signed as a free agent with the Broncos in March— a couple months before it became certain the Harris’ group’s bid on Washington would be successful. After a rough preseason opener for the Broncos last month, Stidham played very well in the next two preseason games, combining to complete 29 of 45 for 336 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions. If Broncos’ starting quarterback Russell Wilson has to tape his ankle in-game and miss a series, Stidham is fully capable of filling in.
Had the purchase happened earlier, could Washington have made a free-agent play for Stidham?
“Probably would have been a conflict of interest, to be honest,’’ he said. “It’s good for them. I know they’re really excited for it.”
Maybe someday the in-laws will have a chance to work together. At the very least, Stidham should have connections for a sports team’s front-office job after he retires playing.
“I don’t know about that,’’ Stidham said. “Hopefully playing for a long time.”
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