Michael Jordan sells Charlotte Hornets’ ownership interest
CHARLOTTE, NC –
Michael Jordan is finalizing a deal to sell the majority share of the Charlotte Hornets, a move that will end his 13-year run overseeing the organization, the team announced Friday.
Jordan is selling to a group led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall, the Hornets said. Plotkin has been a minority shareholder in the Hornets since 2019. Schnall has been a minority owner of the Atlanta Hawks since 2015 and is in the process of selling his investment in that team.
It is not clear how long the sale process will take to be finalized by the NBA board of directors. Jordan is expected to retain a stake in the Hornets, the team he purchased in 2010 for approximately $275 million.
“Just as it’s great that one of our greats, Michael Jordan, can become the chief governor of a team, he has an absolute right to sell at the same time,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver told the NBA earlier this month. Final. “Values have gone up a lot since he bought that team, so that’s his decision.”
The sale price was not immediately disclosed. The most recent sale of an NBA team came when Mat Ishbia bought the Phoenix Suns, a deal that, when closed in December, valued that franchise at $4 billion.
Other members of the new potential Hornets ownership group — pending approval — include recording artist J. Cole, Dan Sundheim, Ian Loring, country music singer-songwriter Eric Church, and several local Charlotte investors, including Amy Levine Dawson and Damian Mills.
