Michael Jordan’s 13-year stint as a majority owner in the National Basketball Association (NBA) may be coming to an end.
Sources to ESPN claim that Jordan is in serious negotiations to sell his majority share in the Charlotte Hornets to a group led by Hornets minority owner Gabe Plotkin and Atlanta Hawks minority owner Rick Schnall, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports.
If the sale goes through, Jordan is expected to retain a minority stake in the Hornets.
Michael Jordan, co-owner of 23xi racing and NBA legend watching the action on pit road during qualfying for the 2nd annual Ally 400 on June 25, 2022 at Nashville SuperSpeedway in Nashville, TN. (Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
“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,” Wojnarowski reports.
The report’s timing is interesting, given another report from Washington Times sports columnist Thom Loverro, who claims a source informed him that Jordan would sell his majority stake in the Hornets as a prelude to buying the Commanders.
FWIW: In Nov. I was told by someone who claimed inside knowledge that a NY investment firm was interested in #Commanders and Michael Jordan would be part of bid. Was never able to confirm it. But their information included Jordan selling stake in Hornets https://t.co/n23LAx28lG
— thom loverro (@thomloverro) March 17, 2023
Several reports surfaced on Wednesday and Thursday that the sale of the Commanders was imminent, shortly before news of Jordan selling his majority stake was made public. Though, as Loverro states, he was unable to confirm the report.
Jordan has been the NBA’s only minority owner since purchasing a majority stake in the Hornets in 2010.