SUPERBOWL champions the Denver Broncos are on the lookout to purchase an AFL franchise with North Melbourne leading the pack.

Or so we said.

Turns out it’s not exactly the truth.

But many fans who worked out the April Fool’s story straight off the bat still thought it was a great idea.

“Too bad. That jumper looked half decent,” wrote James.

While Andrew posted: “Funny how this is a joke yet the logo design is actually better than the current NMFC logo.”

Anthony Fenech wrote on our Facebook page: ”The North Melbourne Broncos I like it and we would be the richest club in the land.”

Other readers raised the idea that maybe the Broncos could buy a team in Hobart.

“Joke or not lets get on board - the NFL relocate franchises all the time so they are just the people to get one of our overcrowded Melbourne teams down to Tassie permanently,” Michael wrote.

Most of the 200 people who commented from the 75,000 the story reached on Facebook took it with great humour.

Raul Annedi posted: “Not a bad effort for April fools Herald Sun!”

Below is the story as we published this morning.

Tell us in the comments field if you’d like to see an NFL team buy into your club.

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NORTH Melbourne has emerged as the most likely candidate for a takeover by the Denver Broncos, with officials from the Superbowl champions making contact with the Roos in the lead-up to last week’s season-opener.

After its Superbowl success in January, Denver has embarked on a global expansion push, scouring northern and southern hemispheres for likely targets.

It’s understood North’s move to include orange — which is the colour of the Broncos playing strip — in its apparel this season was a key factor in bringing the parties together.

media_camera North Melbourne captain Andrew Swallow in a jumper featuring the Broncos’ orange.

Orange would become a permanent fixture on the Roos jumper under the new arrangement.

The Broncos are the 11th richest NFL team, currently valued at US $1.94 billion with revenue over $340m.

While Denver would prefer sister clubs to adopt the Broncos name, it’s not believed to be a deal-breaker.

They’re also keen to set up a player exchange program given the recent success of Australian footballers in the NFL, and following the expansion model of English Premier League club Manchester City expanding into foreign markets including Melbourne.

media_camera Coach Brad Scott sporting the new training kit for the Roos, featuring orange. Picture Andy Brownbill media_camera Daniel Wells sporting orange at training. The fashion move attracted the Broncos’ interest. Picture: Getty

media_camera Peyton Manning in action for Denver. Picture: Getty

The Kangaroos had American Eric Wallace at Arden St for three years until being delisted at the end of last season.

Denver’s vice-president of public relations, April Thewell, confirmed the team’s interest in the AFL.

“There is a lot of intrigue about Aussie Rules over here and we see the North Melbourne Kangaroos as a perfect fit,” she said.

“Our VP of football operations John Elway and other members of our management team are heading out to Australia in the coming days to accelerate the negotiations.

“Could the next Peyton Manning come from Arden St? We’d like to think so.”

North Melbourne didn’t want to comment on the Denver interest last night although a spokesman said the club “would be a fool” not to listen to the proposal.

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