The Trail Blazers have begun the process of selling the franchise, the team announced today (via Twitter).
According to the club’s statement, the estate of late Blazers owner Paul Allen has chosen the investment bank Allen & Co. and the law firm Hogan Lovells to lead the sale process, which is expected to continue into the 2025/26 season.
Allen passed away on October 15, 2018, resulting in control of the franchise being transferred to his sister Jody Allen, the trustee and executor of his estate. The plan following Paul Allen’s death was for ownership of the Blazers to eventually change hands as part of an estate sale.
Jody Allen stated in 2022 that there was “no preordained timeline” for the Blazers to be sold, noting that “estates of this size and complexity can take 10 to 20 years to wind down.” Nearly three years later, the sale process has finally gotten underway.
When Sportico published its most recent NBA franchise valuations in late 2024, the Blazers were estimated to be worth $3.6 billion, ranking 23rd among the league’s 30 teams. The Celtics have since reached a tentative sale agreement for a record valuation of $6.1 billion, which may help bump the Blazers’ eventual price tag beyond that $3.6 billion projection.
Nike co-founder Phil Knight and Los Angeles Dodgers minority owner Alan Smolinisky made offers for the franchise in the past, but were turned down by Jody Allen in 2022 and again in 2023.
According to the Blazers, all estate proceeds as a result of the sale will be directed toward philanthropy, per Paul Allen’s wishes.
The news doesn’t affect the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks, who are also controlled by Allen’s estate and aren’t up for sale at this time.
Oh great, I’m sure this will turn out well and the new owner won’t totally destroy the team or anything!!!
Jody Allen has already destroyed the team & that was her ultimate goal & she succeeded
Where is Phil Knight and or Nike to buy the team? Granted Phil is old but you can’t take it with you so spend it and keep the team where it’s at.
The city is boring so…
Getting paid to play a sport you love and grew up with isn’t boring, though.
Yeah and all that glorious natural beauty is boring too made more dramatically boring when compared to garden spots like Detroit, Cleveland, Dallas, Houston Oklahoma City, Chicago. And of course if you’re a foodie of any sort that scene is near the top of anyone’s short list. Boring? Hmmm, rather depends on what, nightclubbing scene?
Vegas just got its new franchise.
Don’t bet on it
Las Vegas and Seattle will receive expansion teams.
Blazers are not going anywhere much less Vegas.
Rejoice !
Can they re-neg that Cronin ext ? Ha
This should of happened years ago when Paul Allen 1st decided to put the team up for Sale & when Paul seen & heard that the Blazer Fans were behind an Ownership Group lead by Terry Porter Paul pulled the team off the Market & then bought the Rose Garden.
Hopefully the Sale of the Blazers it will be a package Deal that includes the Rose Garden Arena (aka Moda Center)
The Allen family has chosen the Allen investment bank to handle the sale. Ha
One thing that longtime Blazers fans need to consider is that the franchise is not facing a fiscal urgency. That is, it is not being sold to liquify the sellers assets to meet other obligations.
That itself bodes well for a strong offer from a prospective buyer group. I say group because the number of wealthy individuals that could fund the purchase price alone is very small. The buyer has to see value in the team at least equivalent to the purchase price — including all team assets, current media rights and also the expected appreciation of the franchise over time.
Even in lean years, the Blazers have enjoyed strong support from the community. As such, the NBA board of governors (fellow team owners) are not likely to approve a sale that is predicated upon relocating the franchise.
That being said, a new ownership group will likely bring intense pressure upon the local and state officials to fund renovations to the Moda Cente, or to build an entirely new venue in the coming years. If such effort were to emerge and fail, it would provide a pretext for a future relocation if doing so increases the net value of the franchise. However, few cities are likely to offer that kind of growth in value over what already exists in Portland.
Finally, I believe the league office had already been in discussions with Jody Allen and/or Bert Kolde regarding the sale of the franchise and was aware in advance of the public announcement. As such, the league is likely to let the sale be consummated before further discussions on expansion to Seattle, Las Vegas and other potential markets resume.
Thank you for adding something useful to this conversation. It seems only homers have something to say every time there is an article about the Blazers.
> That itself bodes well for a strong offer from a prospective buyer group.
> I say group because the number of wealthy individuals that could fund the
> purchase price alone is very small.
You must be old…like me :–) The pool of potential buyers is no longer limited to wealthy individuals. The business of pro sports has changed dramatically over the last 20 years. Ownership groups now take a variety of forms. Private equity can be involved. It’s easy to learn more.
I’d wager that you’ll see at least 5 strong offers for the Blazers, of varying forms, but all satisfying the NBA’s standard for ownership caliber.
Move them to Seattle