CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Michael Jordan is finalizing a sale of his majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets, ending his 13-year run as the primary owner of the franchise.
Jordan reached an agreement to sell the Hornets to a group led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall, the team announced Friday. The agreement is expected to be signed in the coming days, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Terms of the deal haven’t been disclosed. Forbes valued the Charlotte Hornets at $1.7 billion last October.
Talks between Jordan and the Plotkin-Schnall group began as early as March of this year. Plotkin is already a minority owner of Charlotte’s NBA team, while Schnall holds a minority stake in the Atlanta Hawks. Schnall has already begun the process of selling his investment in the Hawks franchise. He’s served on the NBA’s Board of Governors since 2015.
Other minority partners in this deal include North Carolina natives J. Cole and Eric Church, as well as several Charlotte-based investors. The group will also include Chris Shumway, Ian Loring, Dan Sundheim and Dyal HomeCourt Partners.
Jordan will reportedly stay on as a co-owner of the team. The six-time NBA champion paid $275 million for his share of the team in 2010. During that time he’s been the only Black majority owner in the NBA. He first joined the ownership group in 2006.
Jordan will continue to oversee basketball operations through the NBA draft and the start of free agency on July 1. The Hornets have the No. 2 overall pick in next week’s draft.
Plotkin purchased a significant share of the team in 2020. Plotkin founded Melvin Capital and is the firm’s chief investment officer. Daniel Sundheim, the founder of D1 Capital, was also part of that transaction.
Before becoming at least a minority owner of Charlotte’s NBA franchise, Jordan was a 14-time All-Star, five-time NBA MVP and collected numerous accolades as one of the greatest players in history.
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