PORTLAND, Ore. — A day after word broke that the Portland Trail Blazers would be up for sale, Nike co-founder Phil Knight said he is no longer interested in buying the NBA franchise.
Word broke Tuesday that Paul Allen’s estate would be selling the team. The estate of the billionaire Microsoft co-founder said his final wishes were to sell all of his sports holdings and donate the proceeds to charity.
The big questions on the minds of most basketball fans is who would buy the team, and will they stay in Rip City?
Among the most mentioned potential new owners was Phil Knight, who put up $2 billion to buy the team back in 2022. However, at the time there wasn’t a set plan for when the Trail Blazers would go up for sale – which is still the case for Allen’s other sports holdings.
PAST COVERAGE FROM 2022: Nike founder makes bid to buy Portland Trail Blazers
On Wednesday, several reports surfaced saying that Knight is no longer interested in purchasing the Trail Blazers.
The 87-year-old Knight told Bloomberg cited his age as part of the reason for why he is likely going to pass on the chance to purchase the team, saying, “when I was a younger man, I had great interest in being a part of the Trail Blazers franchise.”
According to Sportco, the Blazers value stands at about $3.6 billion and ranks 23rd out of the 30 NBA teams, with reports indicating the team could sell for $4 to $5 billion.