Michael Jordan Reportedly in Talks to Sell Majority Stake in Charlotte Hornets

By Brian Jones

Michael Jordan is looking to make a big business move. According to ESPN, the NBA legend is in serious talks to sell a majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets led by team minority owner Gabe Plotkin and Atlanta Hawks minority owner Rich Schnall. A deal is not imminent, but there's a significant amount of moment on a sale that would make Plotkin and Schnall the co-governors of the Hornets. If the sale is completed, Jordan will likely remain with the team as a minority owner. 

Jordan sold a significant minority stake to Plotkin, the founder and chief of Melvin Capital, and Daniel Sundheim, founder and chief investment officer of D1 Capital, in 2020. Selling a majority share of the Hornets would end Jordan's 13-year run as owner. Schnall, co-president at the private equity firm of Clayton, Dubilier & Rice in New York, was part of the group that purchased the Hawks in 2015 for $850 million. The group includes majority owner Tony Ressler.

Jordan, 60, purchased a majority share of the Hornets for $275 million in 2010. The six-time NBA champion is the league's only Black majority owner and is considered by many the best player in league history. In 2006, Jordan bought a minority stake in the team that was called the Bobcats at the time. 

"Purchasing the Bobcats is the culmination of my post-playing career goal of becoming the majority owner of an NBA franchise," Jordan said in a statement in 2010, per ESPN. "I am especially pleased to have the opportunity to build a winning team in my home state of North Carolina. I plan to make this franchise an organization that Charlotte can be proud of, and I am committed to doing all that I can to achieve this goal."

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"We are pleased that Michael Jordan's purchase of majority ownership of the Bobcats was approved by the NBA's Board of Governors and closed in such a smooth and expeditious fashion," then NBA commissioner David Stern said. "We look forward to the continued growth of the Bobcats, on and off the court, under his leadership.

Jordan was a member of the Chicago Bulls from 1984-1993, 1995-1998, and the Washington Wizards from 2001-2003. Along with winning six NBA titles, Jordan was named an NBA All-Star 14 times, won the NBA Finals MVP award six times and the NBA MVP award five times. 

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