Former MLB star Alex Rodriguez will become the next owner of the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves for $1.5 billion.
Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor has agreed to sell 100% ownership of the franchise to a group led by Rodriguez and entrepreneur Marc Lore after a yearslong legal dispute over the sale contract, [ESPN](https://go.skimresources.com?id=126006X1587346&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.espn.com%2Fnba%2Fstory%2F_%2Fid%2F44504541%2Fsources-rodriguez-lore-own-timberwolves-standoff) reports. The NBA has begun the transfer process to Rodriguez and Lore, which necessitates 23 of 30 votes of approval from the league’s board of governors.
Rodriguez and Lore initially agreed to purchase the Timberwolves, along with the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx, from Taylor for $1.5 billion in 2021 as part of a three-part sale. The first two parts included 36% of the Timberwolves sold for about $500 million, but Taylor [called off the remainder of the sale](https://go.skimresources.com?id=126006X1587346&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nba.com%2Fnews%2Ftimberwolves-not-for-sale-glen-taylor) in March 2024, claiming that Rodriguez and Lore missed a deadline to finalize the deal.
Rodriguez and Lore objected to Taylor’s claim, saying he had “seller’s remorse.”
“We have fulfilled our obligations, have all necessary funding and are fully committed to closing our purchase of the team as soon as the NBA completes its approval process,” the partners said in March 2024. “Glen Taylor’s statement is an unfortunate case of seller’s remorse that is short sighted and disruptive to the team and the fans during an historic winning season.”
The Timberwolves finished the 2023-24 regular season with a 56-26 record, the franchise’s best record in 20 years, before losing to the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference Finals.
The dispute between Taylor and Rodriguez-Lore went to legal arbitration, and in February a three-judge panel ruled in favor of Rodriguez and Lore. Taylor has decided not to appeal the arbitrators’ ruling as part of the sale agreement.
Taylor, 83, purchased the Timberwolves in 1994 for about $88 million, according to the Associated Press.
Rodriguez played 22 seasons in MLB from 1994 to 2016 for the Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers and New York Yankees. The three-time MVP won the 2009 World Series with the Yankees and earned 14 All-Star selections, 10 Silver Slugger awards and two Gold Glove awards.
In 2013 while with the Yankees, Rodriguez was suspended 211 games by MLB for ties to performance-enhancing drugs. He appealed his suspension, which was later reduced to 162 games, the longest drug-related suspension in MLB history. He returned to the Yankees in 2015 and played parts of two seasons before being released in August 2016.