The Portland Trail Blazers have received an official bid from Nike co-founder Phil Knight and Los Angeles Dodgers part-owner Alan Smolinisky to buy the franchise. They collectively offered above $2 million (approximately $2.74 million) to buy the franchise.
The Paul G. Allen Trust, which oversees the team, has been in conversation with Alen Knight and Smolinisky, and those talks are expected to continue. Allen who was also the Microsoft co-founder purchased the Trail Blazers in 1998 and died in 2018.
After his demise, Jody managed the trust and it has been reported that the sale of Trail Blazers and the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks were also owned by Allen. They’re all part of the trust’s long-term strategy.
Despite the fact that Portland is a minor media market for an NBA franchise, the Blazers have a large fan base. Portland Trail Blazers were valued at $2.05 Billion in 2021.
The Minnesota Timberwolves, a small-market team, were sold in 2021 for US$1.5 billion in a package that included the Minnesota Lynx of the Women’s NBA.
Knight, 84, was raised in Portland and studied at the University of Oregon, and has an estimated net worth of more than $50 billion. After 52 years of dominance of sports apparel company Nike, he resigned as chairman and chief executive in 2015.
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