By: Fatima Roshni Image credit: Fox News
Former NBA legend Michael Jordan's 13-year tenure as the Charlotte Hornets owner has now come to an end, with its sale being approved by the NBA Board of Governors by a unanimous vote of 29-1.
With the principle vote of New York Knicks owner James Dolan against the sale, ownership will be resumed by a group led by Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin, purchased for an estimated $3 billion.
Rick and Gabe have previously been minority owners of other NBA franchises. While Rick was part of a group that purchased the Atlanta Hawks for $850 million, Plotkin was part of the Hornets.
Joining Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin are Charlotte-based artists J. Cole and Eric Church and North Carolina natives Dan Sundheim and Ian Loring as part of the ownership group led by the two.
For NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, "In the same way that it’s wonderful that one of our greatest, Michael Jordan, could become principal governor of a team, he has the right to sell at the same time."
Besides the sale, Jordan still remains a minority stakeholder in the Hornets, with Rick and Plotkin taking over as the franchise's new governors with all the paperwork completed in the coming week.
With a net worth of $1 billion from his 89.5% stake ownership of Hornets in 2010, earning an estimated $600 million, Jordan was an investor in the franchise previously known as the Bobcats in 2006.
Purchasing a minority stake in 2006, Jordan, behind the team's majority owner Robert L. Johnson as the second highest shareholder, later took over for $275 million as the first Black majority owner.
Under Jordan's ownership, the Hornets qualified for just three playoff games without a single win. The new duo of Brandon Miller and LaMelo Ball, however, might be an effective one for the franchise.
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