Jordan's Sale of Hornets Control Would Set NBA Back

After 13 years of running the Charlotte Hornets, Michael Jordan has a deal to sell his majority stake in the team. The NBA great would retain a minority stake and remain involved in the franchise, ESPN reports. The buyer is a group led by Gabe Plotkin, who owns a minority share now, and Rick Schnall. The deal values the franchise at $3 billion. Jordan paid $275 million for control of the business in 2010. Franchise valuations in professional sports have been increasing rapidly; sale of control of the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury put the teams at a combined $4 billion in December.

As an owner, Jordan has not been a champion. The Hornets, who were called the Bobcats when Jordan bought in, have made the playoffs only three times since 2010. They've had five head coaches in that time. A sale would mean, once the league approves the transaction, the NBA no longer has a Black majority owner, per the Wall Street Journal. "It's a marketplace," Commissioner Adam Silver said earlier this year in acknowledging the effect of the rising valuations and the possibility this would come to pass. "I would love to have better representation in terms of principal governors," he told a press conference.