When Paul Allen’s estate announced this week that the Portland Trail Blazers were on the market, the statement indicated that the process could extend into the 2025-26 season.
That estimate is in line with past sales of NBA franchises. Some sales went down within months. That includes the 2017 sale of the Houston Rockets, which went on the market in July and was sold by September.
Other sales lasted around a year or longer, including the 2022 purchase of the Phoenix Suns. The team was made available in September 2021 and sold in December 2022.
Then there’s the Minnesota Timberwolves. That sales process began in 2021 but wasn’t finalized until last April, following years of legal haggling.
The sale of the Blazers is unique in that the team is controlled by an estate rather than an individual or a business entity. When Allen died in 2018, his will stipulated that his assets, including the Seattle Seahawks, be liquidated to benefit charities with no specified timeline.
Allen’s sister, Jody Allen, is the estate’s trustee and chair of the Blazers.
The estate’s decision not to sell either franchise right away has proven financially beneficial. The Blazers, estimated to be worth $3.65 billion by CNBC, should fetch significantly more than the $2.2 billion the Houston Rockets were sold for in 2017. At the time, that purchase set the record for the largest sale of a U.S. sports franchise.
In 2024, Forbes listed the Seahawks’ value at $5.5 billion. The Carolina Panthers sold for $2.8 billion in 2017. The San Francisco 49ers are reportedly selling 6.1% of their team to a group of three Bay Area families at a valuation of more than $8.5 billion.
Jody Allen could continue to remain patient and wait for the best deal possible. She has already demonstrated that she won’t settle for just any offer. In 2022, she turned down a reported offer of over $2 billion from Nike co-founder Phil Knight, who this week stated he is no longer interested in purchasing the team.
It’s also possible that potential buyers have been lining up for years and a bidding war is about to take place that could speed up the process.
Here’s a look at the timelines for sales of nine NBA franchises dating back to 2014:
BOSTON CELTICS
Price: $6.1 billion, the most ever paid for a U.S. professional sports franchise.
Up for sale: The franchise became available in July 2024, shortly after the Celtics captured their 18th NBA championship.
Sold: The team was purchased last March by Bill Chisholm, the co-founder of Symphony Technology Group (California-based private equity firm) and a lifelong Celtics fan.
Estimated value (via CNBC): $5.5 billion (seventh in NBA).
• • •
PHOENIX SUNS
Price: $4 billion.
Up for sale: In September 2021, former owner Robert Sarver, after being accused of using racial slurs and discriminating against women in the workplace, put the team up for sale.
Sold: The Suns, along with the WNBA’s Mercury, were sold to Mat Ishbia, CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage. The purchase was agreed upon in December 2022 and finalized by the NBA in early 2023.
Estimated value: $4.6 billion (12th).
• • •
DALLAS MAVERICKS
Price: $3.5 billion.
Up for sale: Mark Cuban, who purchased a majority stake in the team for $285 million in 2000, kept his desire to sell secret.
Sold: In December 2023, Cuban sold 70% ownership to Miriam Adelson, whose late husband, Sheldon Adelson, owned Las Vegas casinos.
Estimated value: $5 billion (10th).
• • •
BROOKLYN NETS
Price: $3.3 billion.
Up for sale: In 2017, Joseph Tsai, a billionaire businessman/lawyer and co-founder of Alibaba Group (Chinese multinational technology company), purchased 49% of the Nets from Mikhail Prokhorov, who paid $200 million for the team in 2010.
Sold: Tsai exercised his option to become the majority owner in 2019 and also paid $1 billion for the Barclays Center, where the Nets play.
Estimated value: $5.6 billion (6th).
• • •
HOUSTON ROCKETS
Price: $2.2 billion.
Up for sale: In July 2017, Leslie Alexander announced his intention to sell the team, which Forbes valued at $1.65 billion. He bought the team in 1993 for $85 million.
Sold: In September 2017, Houston businessman Tilman Fertitta purchased the Rockets, setting a new record for the sale price of an NBA franchise.
Estimated value: $5.7 billion (fifth).
• • •
LA CLIPPERS
Price: $2 billion.
Up for sale: Disgraced owner Donald Sterling, who bought the team in 1981 for $12.5 million, was banned by the NBA in April 2014 and forced to sell the team.
Sold: Steve Ballmer, a former CEO of Microsoft, purchased the team and took control in August 2014.
Estimated value: $5.4 billion (8th).
• • •
UTAH JAZZ
Price: $1.6 billion.
Up for sale: Larry Miller, who bought the team in 1986 for $14 million, died in 2009. His family owned the team until Ryan Smith, co-founder of Qualtrics (an experience management company), reached out to Millers’ widow, Gail Miller, in 2020 about buying the team.
Sold: A sales agreement was reached in October 2020. The NBA approved the sale in December 2020.
Estimated value: $3.75 billion (20th).
• • •
MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES
Price: $1.5 million.
Up for sale: Glen Taylor, who bought the team for $88 million in 1994, sought to sell in 2021.
Sold: Later in 2021, a sale agreement was reached with former Major League Baseball star Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore, founder and CEO of the Wonder Group. However, the situation became a muddied legal mess before being finalized last April. The sale is awaiting approval by the NBA Board of Governors.
Estimated value: $3.25 billion (29th).
• • •
ATLANTA HAWKS
Price: $850 million.
Up for sale: The team went up for sale in January 2015.
Sold: A group led by billionaire Tony Ressler purchased the team in April 2015. He is also a minority owner of the MLB’s Milwaukee Brewers.
Estimated value: $4.3 billion (16th).
-- Aaron Fentress | afentress@Oregonian.com | @AaronJFentress (Twitter), @AaronJFentress (Instagram), @AaronFentress (Facebook)