--- a/sys/dev/netif/bnx/if_bnx.c
+++ b/sys/dev/netif/bnx/if_bnx.c
@@ -2714,6 +2714,10 @@
 
 	bnx_ape_unlock(sc, BGE_APE_LOCK_GRC);
 
+	/* Release NVRAM arbitration. */
+	CSR_WRITE_4(sc, BGE_NVRAM_SWARB, BGE_NVRAMSWARB_CLR1);
+	CSR_READ_4(sc, BGE_NVRAM_SWARB);
+
 	/*
 	 * Poll until we see the 1's complement of the magic number.
 	 * This indicates that the firmware initialization is complete.