It may not be the New York Mets (as he was previously linked to), but Alex Rodriguez seems poised to be one of the newest owners of a professional sports franchise sometime this summer. Current Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor has reportedly reached a verbal agreement to sell the team to the former Yankees slugger and his partner Marc Lore for $1.5B pending NBA approval of the deal.
A-Rod and Lore are 50/50 partners in the agreement, though neither has publicly announced the sale as of yet. Rumours of relocation were swirling when Taylor went public with his desire to sell the franchise. However in recent weeks, Taylor has mentioned that any sale may include clauses that require the new owners to keep the team in Minnesota.
A-Rod’s group entered into negotiations with Taylor on April 10th, and although no agreement was made during the exclusive 30 day window, reports say that the sale is essentially a done deal at this point.
Rodriguez earned an estimated $475M through his baseball contracts alone during his MLB career. Since then however, the former shortstop has signed a variety of endorsement deals including Pepsi, and Nike among others, while also launching his own corporation (the aptly named “A-Rod Corp”) which has invested in over 30 companies with partnerships valued at over $1B.
For his part, Marc Lore is no financial slouch either. After Wal-Mart purchased his startup Jet.com, Marc was named President & CEO of Wal-Mart eCommerce from 2016-2021. Lore currently has an estimated net worth of $324M.
Any sale of an NBA franchise needs to be approved by the board of governors, which could come within the next week. The deal would come into effect in 2023, meaning Taylor would theoretically continue running the franchise for the next two years. Included in the agreement is the sale of the WNBA franchise the Minnesota Lynx.
Taylor, who has owned the T-Wolves since 1994, bought the team for $88M seventeen years ago. The sale will net the 80 year old a tidy $1.412B profit in the process (an increase of roughly $83M per year).
The franchise currently has a lease on the Target Center Arena until 2035, with a $50M buyout clause in the rental agreement. Though the facility was built over 30 years ago, it has undergone extensive renovations in recent years, most notably a $140M facelift which was fully completed in 2017.
Reaction to the potential sale from fans has drawn mixed reviews. Some cite A-Rod’s cheating past, and big market roots as cause for concern that owners may eventually move the team to another locale. Others are cautiously optimistic that a recognizable athlete and “new money” at the helm may help turn the franchise around. Since they last won the old Midwest division in 2003-04, the Timberwolves have only made 1 playoff appearance, which resulted in a first round exit to the Rockets in 2017-18. And with the team currently vying for the #1 overall pick once again, fans have every reason to be losing patience with management to right the course.
In the end, despite losing out on New York’s second favourite baseball club in a bidding war with Steve Cohen, it would appear A-Rod made good on his dream of owning a pro sports team. It may not be baseball, it may not be New York, but Rodriguez and Lore ultimately accomplished their goal. And at a $160M discount compared to the Utah Jazz who also recently changed owners to boot.
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner