As Decreed By Former Owner Paul Allen Portland Trailblazers Are Now Up For Sale

He died in 2018 and of course he stipulated what was to be done with his estate. His sister, Jody Allen, has been the trustee of his estate since his death. And as decreed by the former owner, Paul Allen, the Portland Trailblazers are now officially up for sale. Allen was the co-founder of Microsoft Corporation with Bill Gates and left behind a substantial estate. Due to the size and complexity of the estate the sale of the franchise has taken time to come to fruition. However, yesterday the team made the following statement:

“The estate of Paul G. Allen today announced it has commenced a formal sales process for the Portland Trail Blazers NBA franchise, consistent with Allen’s directive to eventually sell his sports holdings and direct all estate proceeds to philanthropy. 

The estate has selected investment bank Allen & Company and law firm Hogan Lovells to lead the sales process, which is estimated to continue into the 2025-26 basketball season. The NBA Board of Governors must then ratify a final purchase agreement. 

This does not affect the Seattle Seahawks NFL franchise or the estate’s 25% interest in the Seattle Sounders MLS, and neither is for sale.”

With the ensuing sale of the Trailblazers they will become the fifth NBA franchise to get sold in the past three years. The other franchises recently sold are:

• Boston Celtics 2025 sold for $6.1 billion, surpassing the NFL’s Washington Commanders for the highest amount ever paid for a U.S. sports team.
• Dallas Mavericks 2023 sold for $3.5 billion
• Charlotte Hornets 2023 sold for $3 billion.
• Phoenix Suns (including WNBA Phoenix Mercury) 2023 sold for $4 billion.

They haven’t had a winning season since the 2020-2021 season; however, buying any sports franchise is a winning proposition. The expectation is that the Trailblazers will sell for somewhere in the $3 billion range like the Hornets and Mavericks. They are not likely to fetch an amount like the Boston Celtics did at over $6 billion.

As Decreed By Former Owner Paul Allen Portland Trailblazers Are Now Up For Sale

One man who had been very interested in purchasing the Trailblazers was Nike cofounder Phil Knight. Oregon’s wealthiest resident had expressed interest in buying the team five years ago. News outlets had reported in 2022 that Knight had offered more than $2 billion to buy the Blazers, but he was rejected. Nevertheless, Knight has now declined to purchase the team due to his age. He is 87 years old.

So with Knight bowing out of the competition who will step up? Some have suggested Jeff Bezos, Larry Ellison and even the ex-wife of Bezos, Mackenzie Scott. Or it could be a complete unknown entity that swoops in to make the purchase. But at least the wheels are now in motion and we will have to wait and see how events unfold.

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