Source: Jacob Kupferman / Getty
Not only has his
Air Jordan line of signature kicks certified him as a billionaire, but now his investment into the
Charlotte Hornets is bolstering his pockets even more.
According to
NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski, Jordan is in serious talks to sell a majority of his stake in the North Carolina team to a group led by the team’s minority owner Gabe Plotkin and Atlanta Hawks minority owner Rich Schall.
Jordan did make history as the league’s only Black majority owner upon buying the team over a decade ago, but he already sold off a bunch of it in 2020.
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“Jordan sold a significant minority stake to Plotkin, founder and chief investment officer of Melvin Capital, and Daniel Sundheim, founder and chief investment officer of D1 Capital, in 2020, and sources said that Sundheim is part of the group working to purchase the team,” writes Woj.
Despite the dwindling Black representation throughout the league, the investment proved smart, as Jordan purchased the majority stake for $275 million in 2010, and the team is currently worth $1.7 billion.
In terms of NBA teams, it’s historically one of the worst franchises in the league and is the third least valuable team, with only the
Minnesota Timberwolves,
Memphis Grizzlies, and
New Orleans Pelicans trailing.
BET owner Robert L. Johnson sold his majority stake to Jordan in 2010 and regretted it because of how much sports teams appreciate in value.
“Definitely, the regrets,”
Johnson said in January. “I’d tell Michael about that all the time. … Michael was always my first choice to sell the team. He and I have been friends, you know, 10-15 years before I even owned the team. If I wanted to sell the team if I was forced to sell, it would be to Michael.”
See how
Twitter‘s reacting to the potential sale below:
