The Lead

When it comes to working with former players, Denver is setting the standard.

When the Walton-Penner Family Ownership Group acquired the Broncos in 2022, ownership made working with the team's alumni a top priority. This gave way to the establishment of Alumni Huddles, which have gathered former players together to share important information and resources for life after football.

Chris Tomasson of the Denver Gazette recently took a closer look at these Alumni Huddles and how some former Broncos are benefitting from the opportunities.

"The ownership has been amazing in giving resources to alumni, specifically owner Carrie Walton Penner," Broncos Director of Alumni Engagement Dominic Gaspari told Tomasson. "She's a big supporter of the alumni and what was very important was the personal and professional development, so we came up with the idea of Alumni Huddles."

The Broncos have hosted four of these huddles at Empower Field at Mile High since last November, and "topics have included health and wellness, disability and benefit plans, career opportunities and a work/life resources program," Tomasson wrote.

Several players have already benefitted from the sessions, including Marv Montgomery, who retired from the NFL after the 1978 season with several injuries. Montgomery said the huddles, which have attracted an average of nearly two dozen former players, have been "very helpful" in allowing him to gain necessary medical information.

While health and wellness have been key focuses of the huddles, several sessions have also focused on career opportunities and professional development. A huddle in May welcomed three former Broncos who spoke about their career development, including tackle Ryan Harris, who played for the Broncos from 2007-10 and in 2015. Harris, who has pursued a career as a broadcaster, spoke to the value of the huddles in providing a sense of community for players after their playing careers have come to an end.

"It brings back the locker room feel in terms of the ability to be honest and to talk about things that are bothering you and to hear about how other incredibly successful people have struggled with one thing or another and what they did to move through it," Harris said. "There's an opportunity for severe isolation when you're done playing and the Broncos Huddles have made sure that former Broncos players have a place to come, to learn, to listen, to connect, and there's no way to quantify how important it is for a lot of former players, especially guys whose careers just ended."

Harris, who said the huddles have led to former Broncos players establishing other groups that meet regularly for activities such as golf outings, said Denver is leading the way in what he believes is an important effort for former players.

"I get messages from other programs around the NFL,'' Harris said. "This is the most comprehensive and robust one. … The Broncos have excelled at providing opportunity and information in a way that other organizations have yet to do."

To read more about the Broncos' Alumni Huddles, click here to read Tomasson's article.