Hornets owner Michael Jordan in talks to sell majority stake in NBA team, report says
Michael Jordan’s tenure as majority owner of the Charlotte Hornets is reportedly near its end.
Jordan is in serious talks to sell a huge stake of the franchise to a group that includes Hornets minority owner Gabe Plotkin and Atlanta Hawks minority owner Rick Schnall, according to ESPN. Should a sale go through, Jordan would still hold a minority stake in the Hornets, according to the report.
In a statement, Jump Management, which is Jordan’s family office, said: “We don’t comment on rumors and speculation.”
Jordan sold a piece of the Hornets to Plotkin, a founder of Melvin Capital, and Daniel Sundheim, a founder of DI Capital, in 2019. The two New York-based investors were brought on board, but Jordan still controlled 97% of the Hornets’ equity, The Observer reported at the time.
In 2010, Jordan paid Bob Johnson about $180 million to take majority control of the expansion franchise, getting roughly 65 percent of the NBA expansion team’s equity from Johnson. At that point, the franchise was valued at about $287 million, which was less than the $300 million expansion fee Johnson paid the NBA seven years prior to Jordan’s purchase. In 2019, Forbes estimated the Hornets were worth $1.3 billion.
The Hornets have struggled to put it all together over the past decade under Jordan’s ownership. They have reached the postseason only twice and are in the midst of a six-year drought that will be extended thanks to Charlotte’s 22-49 record this season. Overall, the Hornets are 418-600 in Jordan’s 11-plus years at the franchise’s helm, and they’ve also had five head coaches — including a second stint for Steve Clifford after the firing of James Borrego.
Jordan hasn’t been publicly spotted around the team much lately and only sparingly since his well-publicized playful head slap of Malik Monk in 2018. He was on the bench for the second half of the Hornets’ loss to Orlando earlier this month and was in town to meet with some children from Make-A-Wish following his record $10 million contribution to the foundation.
This story was originally published March 16, 2023 at 7:29 PM.
