He was president of Gerald H. Phipps, Inc., a construction company and owner of the Denver Broncos American football club from 1961 to 1981.
He studied at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, where he graduated in 1936 with a bachelor's degree with a major in English literature.
When his uncle retired and closed every operation in the company but the aforementioned Denver office, Phipps was inspired to expand to the Pikes Peak Region for what became Gerald H. Phipps General Contractors in 1952, taking the lessons of his father to heart in wanting to put people to work for projects that would help the community.
[3] In 1961, a syndicate was formed by Calvin Kunz to help buy Rocky Mountain Empire Sports, which operated the expansion Denver Broncos, who were created by founder Bob Howsam.
Kunz was seen talking with Barron Hilton (owner of the San Diego Chargers) about moving the team in a January meeting of American Football League executives.
Gerald Phipps was later approached by Sonny Werblin of the New York Jets and Ralph Wilson of the Buffalo Bills to move for the benefit of the league.
The announcement on February 16 that the Phipps family had over 90% of the team led to public fanfare that saw season tickets sales double from the prior year.
[14] He was a director of Rocky Mountain Empire Sports, which owned the Denver Bears minor league baseball team from 1947 to 1984.