Michael Jordan Hornets sale: MJ nets reported $1.4 billion profit from Gabe Plotkin sale
On Friday morning, news broke that Michael Jordan has made the decision to sell his stake in the Charlotte Hornets. This move ends a 13-year run of him with the organization. Jordan was also the first African-American owner in the NBA and the first former player to become a majority owner.
While the Hornets didn't have a great run while Michael Jordan as owner, the Hall of Famer still managed to do well for himself. This sale will be added to his list of many successful business ventures.
Not long after news of the sale broke, reports emerged of how much Jordan will be selling the team for. Things aren't official, but the current valuation of the franchise is believed to be around $3 billion.
Michael Jordan is selling his majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets to the Gabe Plotkin/Rick Schnall group for an approximate $3 billion valuation, league sources tell ESPN. https://t.co/zDuhsg8mDE
With this current valuation, Jordan is set to make around $1.5 billion in the sale.
While he's already making a large fortune in the deal, Jordan almost walked away with more. He held off on selling the team to see how the Charlotte Hornets did in the draft lottery. If they secured Victor Wembanyama with the first overall pick, the franchise surely would have been worth more. Instead, they walked away with the No. 2 pick.
How much did Michael Jordan first buy the Charlotte Hornets for?
When Michael Jordan first bought into the Charlotte Hornets in 2010, he spent $180 million. However, that was just to become a minority owner.
Years later, Jordan made the decision that he wanted to become a majority owner of the franchise. In total, he spent about $275 million to do so. Even with the steep price he paid to first buy the team, he'll be walking away with a massive return on investment when the sale becomes official.
Jordan has proven on multiple occasions that he is just at good in the business world as he was on the basketball court. Even with the team underperforming during his time as owner, its value spiked enough to make a deal like this worth while.