Blazers Ownership Officially Announces Plan to Sell Team

"The Estate of Paul G. Allen 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," writes Trail Blazers Senior Vice President, Communications and Public Affairs Natalie King in a press statement.

Allen's estate also owns the Seattle Seahawks, and has a 25 percent stake in Major League Soccer club the Seattle Sounders. However, it appears neither of those clubs will be offloaded.

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"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," the presser continues. "This news does not affect the Seattles Seahawks NFL franchise or the Estate's 25% interest in the Seattle Sounders MLS, and neither is for sale."

Paul Allen, who had initially bought the Trail Blazers for $70 million in 1988, passed away on October 15, 1988. Team control was subsequently transferred to the executor of his estate, his sister Jody. Eventually, it was suggested that the club would be offloaded in an estate sale.

As recently as July 2022, however, Jody Allen had insisted that there was no concrete timeline for a sale.

“A time will come when that changes given Paul’s plans to dedicate the vast majority of his wealth to philanthropy, but estates of this size and complexity can take 10 to 20 years to wind down," Allen said at the time. "There is no pre-ordained timeline by which the teams must be sold."

That timeline has just been expedited, apparently.

What kind of price Portland will fetch remains to be seen.

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The most recent club to be sold was one of the NBA's dynastic franchises, in a major market. In March, the Boston Celtics were sold to private equity firm Symphony Technology Group managing director William Chisholm for $6.1 billion, now the record for a controlling piece of a North American sports club.

Although the Trail Blazers occupy a relatively modest market, they are also the only pro team of any of the four major U.S. sports in Portland, which gives them some added cache. In Kurt Badenhausen of Sportico's latest team valuations, published last year, the Trail Blazers came in at $3.6 billion, good for just 23rd among NBA squads. Not a bad ROI for the Allen estate.

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For all the latest news and notes on the Portland Trail Blazers, visit Portland Trail Blazers on SI.