CHARLOTTE, N.C. — NBA legend and Charlotte Hornets Chairman Michael Jordan is selling his majority stake in the team, according to a release Friday morning.
Hornets Sports & Entertainment (HSE) says Jordan reached a deal to sell his majority stake in the Hornets to a group, known as The Buyers Group, led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall.
Under the agreement, HSE says Jordan, who purchased the team in 2010 for about $275 million, will remain a minority owner of the team.
“In the same way that it’s wonderful that one of our greatest, Michael Jordan, could become the principal governor of a team, he has the absolute right to sell at the same time,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said earlier this month at the NBA Finals. “Values have gone up a lot since he bought that team, so that is his decision.”
The sale is still subject to the approval of the NBA Board of Governors, but it is unclear how long that process could take.
Plotkin acquired a minority stake in the Hornets in 2019, the same year he became an alternate governor on the NBA Board of Governors. He is also the founder and chief investment officer of Tallwoods Capital LLC.
Schnall, who has been a significant minority owner of the Altanta Hawks, has also served as an alternate governor on the NBA Board of Governors since 2015 and is co-president of Clayton, Dubilier & Rice LLC.
According to the Associated Press, Schnall is in the process of selling his investment in the Hawks.
Other members of The Buyers Group include Dan Sundheim, Ian Loring, Dyal HomeCourt Partners, North Carolina natives, recording artist J. Cole and country music singer-songwriter Eric Church, and several local Charlotte investors, including Amy Levine Dawson and Damian Mills, the release states.
While the actual sale price is still unknown, ESPN, citing sources, said the franchise could be worth around $3 billion. The most recent sale of an NBA team came when Mat Ishbia bought the Phoenix Suns, a deal that when struck in December valued that franchise at $4 billion.
For as great as Jordan was on the court — national champion at North Carolina, two-time Olympic gold medalist, six-time NBA champion and in the never-ending conversation for best player ever — the Hornets never reached a championship level during his time as the owner.
Charlotte went 423-600 in his 13 seasons as the owner, the 26th-best record over that span in the 30-team league. It never won a playoff series in that time, and hasn’t even been to the postseason in any of the last seven seasons.
“Along with the Hornets, HSE ownership includes the Greensboro Swarm (NBA G League) and Hornets Venom GT (NBA 2K League), as well as managing and operating Spectrum Center, each of which is included as part of the sale,” according to the release.
