The dismissal of Bill Bowlen’s lawsuit does not end the ownership tussle, though; instead, it puts the matter squarely in the N.F.L.’s hands.

In an effort to resolve the dispute out of court, N.F.L. Commissioner Roger Goodell in March appointed Carmen Policy, a former executive with the San Francisco 49ers, to serve as arbitrator in an N.F.L.-sanctioned mediation. Policy has been asked to determine whether the trustees have the authority to decide which of Pat Bowlen’s seven children can become the new controlling owner of the team, or if the team should be sold. He also must determine if the trustees have acted within the boundaries of Pat Bowlen’s succession plan.

Bill Bowlen has supported a bid by Beth Bowlen Wallace, one of Pat Bowlen’s daughters from his first marriage, to become the next principal owner of the team. Ellis, the Broncos’ chief executive, has said that whoever succeeds Pat Bowlen must meet a series of requirements in accordance with the succession plan, and that Bowlen Wallace, who worked for several years at the team until 2015, has not met them yet.

Brittany Bowlen, a daughter from Pat Bowlen’s second marriage, has expressed interest in running the team someday. She previously worked at league headquarters and was a business analyst for the Broncos, and she is now working at McKinsey, the consulting firm, in Denver. She is expected to return to the team later this year in a senior management role.

Though Bill Bowlen’s lawsuit was dismissed because Pat Bowlen died, meaning the executives no longer had power of attorney over his affairs, the judge who first oversaw the case expressed reservations about the many roles played by the executives. Bowlen argued in his filing that the executives answered only to themselves and accused them of having an interest in taking as long as possible to choose a new controlling owner because they could lose their jobs under the new leadership group.