PALM BEACH, Fla. — As the Broncos near the two-month mark of being for sale, president/CEO Joe Ellis remains confident the initial target of a new owner taking over by early September can be achieved.

"I really believe we can have a new owner in place by that time," Ellis said Monday at the NFL's Annual Meeting. "Don't hold that to me as a guarantee, but I do think that's a realistic timetable."

Thirty-eight years after Pat Bowlen and his one sister and two brothers bought a majority interest in the Broncos for $78 million, the team is expected to easily eclipse the current U.S. sports franchise record sale price of $2.35 billion for the NBA's Brooklyn Nets and the NFL record of $2.275 billion for the Carolina Panthers.

The Broncos' sale could exceed $4 billion.

"No. 1, there has been a lot of thorough and excellent work done by our two firms (Allen & Co., and Proskauer Rose LLP) assisting us in the transaction," Ellis said. "No. 2, there is really a significant amount of interest from a number of very qualified bidders in my opinion."

Signed non-disclosure agreements prohibit Ellis from revealing the names of potential buyers.

"I will say it's exciting for the fans," he said. "The team needs a new owner. It's time for that."

In recent years, the Panthers (David Tepper), Buffalo Bills (Terry and Kim Pegula) and Miami Dolphins (Stephen Ross) have been 100% purchases and the initial expectation was the Broncos would be in the same situation. A controlling owner must buy at least 30% of the team and there can be no more than 24 limited-share investors.

"There is no preference there," Ellis said when asked about having a 100% buyer or an ownership group. "There is some encouragement to have minority ownership involved. The resolution that passed (Monday) morning is designating that as something the league hopes to see."

The new Diversity Advisory Committee will be tasked to review the league's diversity policies and practices and provide recommendations to the league. Included on the six-person panel are former Houston Texans general manager and Broncos personnel executive Rick Smith and CU associate professor Stefanie K. Johnson, whose research has centered on leadership and diversity.

"It's not a requirement (to have a minority person or persons as an owner), but as such, you'll see some groups step forward as long as there is one owner that can carry the 30% requirement and has a good group together that is financially viable and has their financing package in place and their partnership agreement in place," Ellis said. "I think you'll see that could be a possibility of who the next owner is. It could also be the possibility of 100% (buyer). That exists as well."

At a news conference, Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney II said his understanding is that "several" groups bidding for the Broncos have minority representation.

The bottom line about the Broncos is unchanged: Because Ellis and the Pat Bowlen trustees have a fiduciary responsibility to the beneficiaries, the highest qualified bidder will get the team. The new owner will have a responsibility to be present and not just at games.

"(The other team owners) want a person who will be present and will be engaged and not be distant from his or her franchise," Ellis said. "Those types of characteristics are important and being relayed to the bidders."

Once the bankers have identified a leading candidate, the NFL's Finance Committee, which is led by Kansas City's Clark Hunt and includes Ross, Arthur Blank (Atlanta), Shad Khan (Jacksonville), Joel Glazer (Tampa Bay), Jim Irsay (Indianapolis), Robert Kraft (New England) and Jeffrey Lurie (Philadelphia), will review the bid. If they present it to the entire league, 24 "yes" votes are needed for approval.

Whoever gets the team won't have the option of retaining the 64-year-old Ellis, who started his NFL career with the Broncos in 1983 and returned to the franchise in 1998.

"I will be a part of (the transition) in that I will be there to introduce the owner to the organization, but somebody is going to replace me," he said. "I've made that clear with the bankers and prospective bidders that have called me and talked to me. How long that transition takes, I can't predict that, but I can promise you that it won't be too long."

The new owner will take over a franchise that has missed the playoffs for six consecutive seasons.

"We haven't won a lot of games on the field the last five years (all losing seasons), but the organization is in a good place for the next owner," Ellis said. "He or she will come into the office knowing they have a good staff in place moving forward."