Only hours ahead of Game 1 of the 2022 NBA Finals, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Nike founder Phil Knight and Dodgers part-owner Alan Smolinisky made an offer to purchase the Trail Blazers. Wojnarowski added that Knight and Smolinisky put more than $2 billion on the table.
Discussions of a potential sale are still ongoing with the Paul Allen Trust that’s currently overseeing the franchise, per Wojnarowski. As Bleacher Report’s Sean Highkin noted, an ownership change could be complicated because the NBA’s Trail Blazers and the NFL’s Seahawks are held in the trust rather than owned by an individual.
Jody Allen, sister to the late Paul Allen, is the Chair of Vulcan Inc., which consists of the Trail Blazers and Seahawks, among other assets. As the Trustee of the Paul Allen Trust, “Jody Allen is responsible for preserving and implementing Paul Allen’s vision for generations to come.”
While $2 billion seems like a massive number, the value of the Trail Blazers isn’t even close to the estimated price tags of the top franchises in the league.
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List of NBA team values for 2021-22 season
The Knicks ($5.8 billion), Warriors ($5.6 billion) and Lakers ($5.5 billion) each cleared the $5 billion mark on Forbes’ latest list of the most valuable NBA franchises. Every team in the league is worth at least $1.5 billion, per Forbes’ estimates.
The most recent sale of a franchise occurred when Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore agreed to a $1.5 billion deal to buy the Timberwolves. They haven’t taken full control of the team just yet, though, as their purchase is structured in installments.
(Per Forbes)
List of NBA team owners
It’s a great time to own an NBA team. While there were plenty of challenges during the seasons that took place amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the average value of an NBA franchise has only continued to jump.
Here is the owner or ownership group for each franchise.
(Per Forbes)
