In a board meeting for the Denver Broncos Foundation during the training camp last August, two of the primary owners of the Broncos threw down the philanthropic glove.
The board had just heard a presentation of the CEO of USA Football, which raised football helmets as an obstacle to sport, both from a financial and safety perspective.
So the husband-wife Tandem by Greg Penner and Carrie Walton Penner threw away a big idea that could affect every football program in high school in Colorado.
“Greg looked at the group and said:” What would be needed to put each of our high school athletes in the best helmet? “” Remembered Allie Engelken, vice -president of the community of the team and the executive director of the foundation. “And then Carrie added to that, and in the safest helmet and recording technology, and how can we make the game safer than just giving a donation?” “
At that time, the largest philanthropic investments were born in the history of Broncos.
On Tuesday, the Broncos announced the Everything in, all covered campaign That will donate 15,516 new Axiom-Helmen in Riddell to each program in the State for a period of four years. The donation, which includes a four-year subscription to Insite Analytics for the Smart Helmets and a Riddell-Zijlijn device, is worth around $ 12 million.
The helmets are appreciated at $ 980 each, according to the 2025 Riddell -catalog, And high school programs save tens of thousands of dollars about the four -year implementation of the campaign. Each program receives 25% of the donated helmets every year, starting with this season, with the total number of helmets determined by the average schedule size of the classification.
Class 5a programs receive 100 in total helmets, while class 4a teams 84, 3a 70, 2a 44, 1a 36, 8-man 26 and 6-man 22 receive 22. The donation comes on the heels of the Broncos, which seduces about $ 700,000 in financial support for girls’ flag football, which has cleared the way for the inaugural season as a sport sanctioned by Chsaa in the fall.
“This is a huge burden of the shoulders of coaches in the state of Colorado,” said Mead head coach Jason Klatt. “This load is two -time. Monetair helps this our program with fundraising efforts and enables our coaches to concentrate on improving other aspects of the program. … And secondly, it’s about safety – we now have the possibilities to keep our players safer during the game.
“This is a big day for football coaches and programs from Colorado High School.”
Each helmet has been adjusted via a 3-D scan and is equipped with five sensor wraps that offer data for coaches to assess the approach to the approach and blocking. The helmets can be overhauled to be able to wear several players all their lives, usually five to 10 years, depending on maintenance and wear.
Schools are responsible for the overhaul and recertification costs that are related to the donated helmets, but that number is fading in comparison with which programs usually spent on new, less advanced helmets for each season.
Klatt estimates that the helmet donations will save its program around $ 40,000 in four years. Ponderosa -head coach Jaron Cohen said his savings would be around $ 50.00, and Columbine coach Andy Lowry called a similar number.
CHSAA commissioner Michael Kruiser believes that the financial implications will ultimately also help other sports.
“This device is one of the more expensive ones with which athletic departments are confronted,” said Krueger. “That financial impact goes beyond football programs, because where those funds would have gone to helmets, they can now be shared over several programs at a school.”
Depending on how long each helmet lasts and how many players each helmet use, the Broncos estimate that the program will influence between 75,000 and 150,000 players in the coming four years. In the past three Chsaa seasons for which Data is available, More than 16,000 student athletes participated in football every fall.
The axioma is considered a top helmet. It is used in university football and the NFL, where it is the preferred helmet for many Broncos. Engelken collaborated with Bobby Mestas, director of youth and secondary school football, as well as equipment manager Chris Valenti to investigate which helmet select.
“When we responded, one of the clear guidelines of ownership was that we wanted to offer the best helmets,” said Broncos President Damani Leech. “That was an important and crucial part of this. … Riddell felt like a great match for us who happened quite naturally in the short period of time that we had to bring all this together. “
Community Outreach is nothing new for the Broncos, whose characteristic philanthropy has been to the Boys & Girls Club for the past 21 years. Denver is the only NFL team that fully finances its own Boys & Girls Club, which is located in Montbello.
The on-field product of the Broncos took a step forward with their first play-off performance in nine years this last season. And Leech noted that the continuous investments of ownership in other areas such as philanthropy and facilities go hand in hand with that success.
“Our primary goal is to be good in football, to be good on the field, to win championships,” said Leech. “But also, this property group wants everyone in the organization to understand that regardless of what your role in the organization is, you play a role in winning.”