Broncos owner Greg Penner backs GM George Paton and coach Sean Payton after playoff heartbreak

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Denver Broncos owner and CEO Greg Penner expressed confidence in general manager George Paton and head coach Sean Payton as he took stock of a fruitful season that came up short after quarterback Bo Nix broke an ankle in the playoffs.

“We’d love to have both of them here long-term,” Penner said. “I think the partnership they’ve created and how they work together is very complementary.”

In their three years working together, the Broncos have improved from 8-9 in 2023 to 10-7 in 2024 and 15-4 this season, which included a divisional-round win over Buffalo and a 10-7 loss to New England in the AFC championship with backup QB Jarrett Stidham under center.

Paton has one year left on the six-year deal he signed in 2021 and Payton has two seasons left on his five-year deal

“In terms of the contracts, those are things that we’ll always deal with on a personal basis and in private,” Penner said.

The Broncos tied a franchise record with 14 wins in the regular season and beat Buffalo in overtime for their first playoff triumph since Super Bowl 50. But Nix broke his right ankle on the game-winning drive and gave way to Stidham on Sunday, when Payton's fourth-down gamble ahead of a blizzard helped derail their Super Bowl dreams.

“Obviously the result on Sunday was disappointing and not what we were expecting,” Penner said. “The finality of it is tough. This is our fourth season and two going out in the playoffs. It hits you pretty hard. That being said, I thought it was a pretty unforgettable season that we’ll look back on. There were a lot of successes.”

The Broncos had six All-Pro players, produced an 11-game winning streak and reestablished a strong homefield advantage, going 9-2 at Empower Field at Mile High.

“The main message is that we are not satisfied,” Penner said. “We know that we have a lot of work to do. We have obviously made a lot of progress in the last four years, but we are going to work our tails off this offseason and come in next year ready to go."

Unlike some other owners, Penner isn't one to publicly delve into the team's football decisions.

“I’ll leave the specifics of where we fell short to our coaching staff and front office because that’s their job and that’s what they do really well,” Penner said. “The process we’ll go through in the next couple weeks: We’ll start the evaluation of our roster, evaluating our coaching staff. You’ll have some natural attrition where coaches can have other opportunities and then we make some changes that we feel are in the best interest of the organization.

“Then we evaluate our roster and our system and come away with some absolute needs and then wants and address that through free agency, trades and the draft.”

The Broncos are finally going to be out from under the record $85 million in dead cap charges from Russell Wilson's release, and the Broncos' new $175 million state-of-the-art headquarters and training facility is due to open this spring and serve as another draw for free agency along with a franchise quarterback and a thriving GM/head coach relationship.

“We’ve got some great folks in place, including the coach, GM and quarterback,” Penner said. “That gives you a chance every year to be successful. Obviously, you’ve got to build out the rest of the roster in a meaningful way and have the best players you can at every position. The way we look at it from an ownership perspective is we have to provide the resources and set the expectations really high and then we’re going to hold people accountable.”

As far as free agency, Penner said, “We’ll definitely take an aggressive approach, but we’re also not just going to bring in somebody that’s not right for this locker room. There’ll be a lot of factors that we consider. I’d say we’ll be opportunistically aggressive."

Penner said if Sunday's blizzard happened on gameday in 2032 he would close the roof, confirming the organization is “evaluating retractable roof options” for the new stadium in downtown Denver.

Skies were clear at kickoff for the AFC championship but it quickly got cloudy and a blizzard arrived after halftime, making it difficult for players to make cuts and for fans to even see the action on the field.

“In this case, we would’ve likely closed it ahead of time, given both the temperature and the potential precipitation,” Penner said. “That being said, who knows if that would’ve had any outcome on that either way? This would’ve been more around — just, what was good for the fans. Because that was pretty rough.”

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Denver Broncos CEO and owner Greg Penner watches warm ups prior to the AFC Championship NFL football game against the New England Patriots, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Denver Broncos chief executive officer and co-owner Greg Penner heads into a season-ending news conference Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, at the NFL football team's headquarters in Centennial, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Denver Broncos chief executive officer and co-owner Greg Penner responds to questions during a season-ending news conference Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, at the NFL football team's headquarters in Centennial, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Thursday he has informed Venezuela's acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, that he will open up all commercial airspace over the Venezuela and Americans will soon be able to visit

Trump said he instructed his transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, and U.S. military leaders to take steps to open the airspace for travel by the end of the day.

“American citizens will be very shortly able to go to Venezuela, and they’ll be safe there,” the Republican president said.

Venezuela’s government did not immediately comment.

While the State Department continued to warning Americans against traveling to Venezuela, at least one U.S. airline announced its intention to soon resume direct flights between the countries.

American Airlines was the last U.S. airline flying to Venezuela when it suspended flights in 2019 that it operated between Miami and the capital, Caracas, as well as the oil hub city of Maracaibo. The airline said Thursday it would share additional details about the return to service in the coming months as it works with federal authorities on security assessments and necessary permissions.

“We have a more than 30-year history connecting Venezolanos to the U.S., and we are ready to renew that incredible relationship,” Nat Pieper, American’s chief commercial officer, said in a statement. “By restarting service to Venezuela, American will offer customers the opportunity to reunite with families and create new business and commerce with the United States.”

Before Venezuela came undone in the mid-2010s, it was not uncommon for Venezuelans to take weekend leisure trips to Miami. U.S. airlines stopped flying to Venezuela before the Department of Homeland Security in 2019 ordered an indefinite suspension, arguing that conditions in Venezuela threatened the “safety and security of passengers, aircraft, and crew.”

Earlier this week, Trump's administration notified Congress that it was taking the first steps to possibly reopen the shuttered U.S. Embassy in Caracas as it explores restoring relations with the country after the U.S. military raid that ousted then-President Nicolás Maduro. In a notice to lawmakers dated Monday and obtained by The Associated Press, the State Department said it was sending in a regular and growing contingent of temporary staffers to conduct “select” diplomatic functions.

“We are writing to notify the committee of the Department of State’s intent to implement a phased approach to potentially resume Embassy Caracas operations,” the department said in separate but identical letters to 10 House and Senate committees.

Diplomatic relations between the two countries collapsed in 2019.

Even as Trump suggested Americans will be safe in Venezuela, his State Department kept in place its highest-level travel advisory: “Do not travel,” a warning of a high risk of wrongful detention, torture, kidnapping and more.

The department did not immediately respond to a message inquiring whether it would be changing that warning.

In November, as Trump was ramping up pressure on Maduro, the American president said the airspace “above and surrounding” Venezuela should be considered as “closed in its entirety."

The Federal Aviation Administration, which has jurisdiction generally over the United States and its territories, told pilots to be cautious flying around Venezuela because of heightened military activity.

After that FAA warning, international airlines began canceling flights to Venezuela.

The FAA issued a similar 60-day warning in January, urging U.S. aircraft operators to “exercise caution” when flying over the eastern Pacific Ocean near Mexico, Central America and parts of South America. The warning was issued after Maduro's capture but came as the U.S. has threatened to continue military strikes on alleged drug trafficking boats in the area.

Associated Press writer Regina Garcia Cano in Caracas, Venezuela, and AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)