Michael Jordan is finalizing a deal to sell a majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets, a move that will end his 13-year career at the helm of the organization, the team announced Friday.
Jordan is selling to a group led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall, the Hornets said. Plotkin has been a minority shareholder in the Hornets since 2019. Schnall has been a minority owner of the Atlanta Hawks since 2015 and is in the process of selling his investment in that team.
It is unclear how long the sale process will take to be finalized by the NBA Board of Governors. Jordan is expected to keep a stake in the Hornets, the team he bought in 2010 for about $275 million.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan speaks to the media about hosting the NBA All-Star basketball game during a press conference in Charlotte, NC, Tuesday, February 12, 2019. Michael Jordan is finalizing a agreement to sell majority stake of the Charlotte Hornets, a move that will end his 13-year career overseeing the organization, the team announced Friday, June 16, 2023. Jordan is selling to a group led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall the Hornets said. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton, File)
Jordan’s decision to sell leaves all 30 NBA teams without any majority black ownership.
«In the same way that it’s wonderful that one of our greatest, Michael Jordan, can become the primary governor of a team, he has the absolute right to sell at the same time,» NBA commissioner Adam Silver told earlier this month in the NBA. Finals. «Values have gone up a lot since he bought that team, so that’s his call.»
At that same press conference in the finale, Silver said that the Board of Governors focuses on diversity in ownership groups.
NBA SUSPENSES GRIZZLIES’ JA MORANT 25 GAMES AFTER SECOND ONLINE GUN INCIDENT: ‘ALARM AND DISCONCERNED’
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, left, and Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan pose for a photo during a press conference to announce Charlotte, NC, as the site of the NBA All-Star basketball game. NBA 2017 June 23, 2015. Michael Jordan is finalizing a deal to sell a majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets, a move that will end his 13-year career overseeing the organization, the team announced Friday, June 16. June 2023. Jordan is selling to a group led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall, the Hornets said. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton, File)
«I would love to have better representation in terms of senior governors,» Silver said. «It’s a market. It’s something that if we were expanding, the league would be in a position to directly focus on that, but in individual team transactions, the market takes us to where we are.»
The sale price was not immediately announced; ESPN, citing sources, said the franchise was valued at $3 billion. The most recent sale of an NBA team came when Mat Ishbia bought the Phoenix Suns, a deal that when closed in December valued that franchise at $4 billion.
Through spokeswoman Estee Portnoy, Jordan declined to comment.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Michael Jordan looks on during the first half of an NBA basketball game between the Charlotte Hornets and the New York Knicks in Charlotte, North Carolina on Friday, November 12, 2021. Michael Jordan is finalizing a deal to sell majority stake from the Charlotte Hornets, a move that will end his 13-year career overseeing the organization, the team announced Friday, June 16, 2023. Jordan is selling to a group led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall, the Hornets said. (AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman, File)
As good as Jordan was on the court — a national champion in North Carolina, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, a six-time NBA champion, and in the endless conversation about the greatest player of all time — the Hornets never reached a level championship during his time. as owner.
Charlotte went 423-600 in his 13 seasons as owner, the 26th-best record over that span in the 30-team league. They’ve never won a playoff series in that time, and they haven’t even been to the postseason in any of the past seven seasons.
Other members of the Hornets’ new potential ownership group, pending approval, include recording artist J. Cole, Dan Sundheim, Ian Loring, country music singer-songwriter Eric Church, and several local Charlotte investors, including Amy Levine Dawson and Damian Mills.