Michael Jordan bought the Charlotte Hornets in 2010 for $275 million and will share a majority stake in the team for $3 billion, more than he’s made from Nike in 40 years. Jordan purchased the controlling interest from George Shin in 2010. He first bought an interest in the Hornets in 2006. After the sale, Jordan is set to make over $2 billion in the deal.
Jordan is preparing to sell the Hornets for about $3 billion
Since acquiring ownership of the Charlotte Hornets, Jordan has not had any success with the franchise.
Under Jordan’s guidance, the Hornets never won a playoff series or finished higher than the sixth seed in the East.
Now, Airness appears to have found the heir to its once buzzing franchise.
Jordan is set to sign a deal to sell his majority stake to Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall, two private equity investors, for nearly $3 billion, according to ESPN. This means that Jordan is willing to earn more than 10x on its original investment.
To put that in perspective, Jordan would earn more from selling the Hornets than he did from his life’s deal with Nike, which pays him royalty for every shoe ever sold by Air Jordan.
Even with Jordan out, the future looks bright in Charlotte.
While official terms of the deals have yet to be announced, Jordan will reportedly oversee basketball operations during the 2023 NBA Draft.
The Hornets have the #2 pick in the 2023 NBA draft with all signs pointing to the team picking either Scott Henderson or Brandon Miller to pair with LaMelo Ball.
Why did Michael Jordan sell the Charlotte Hornets?
While Jordan declined to comment on the sale, his rationale for selling his majority stake is fairly clear.
During his time as owner, the Hornets failed to reach the championship level Jordan was accustomed to, as the franchise had been toiling on average for over a decade.
Charlotte had a 423-600 record in Jordan’s thirteen seasons as owner, good for a league-best 26 over that span. Over the past seven seasons, the Hornets have failed to make the playoffs and made questionable roster decisions on their way to the bottom of the Eastern Conference.
According to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, Jordan has every right to sell the Hornets, especially since values have gone up since he bought the team.
“In the same way that it’s great that one of our greatest, Michael Jordan, can become the main referee of the team, he has the absolute right to sell at the same time,” Silver said during the NBA Finals. “The values have gone up a lot since he bought that team, and that’s his decision.”
With the team up for sale, it opened up opportunities for other investors, including country music star Eric Church and rapper J. Cole, both of whom would become minority owners in the franchise.