Nike Co-Founder Phil Knight Offers Over $2 Billion To Buy Portland Trail Blazers

Phil Knight, co-founder of Nike, and Alan Smolinisky, co-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball franchise, have made an offer of more than two billion dollars to buy the Portland Trail Blazers, according to ESPN. The Oregon franchise, however, responded that it  » was still not for sale « .

Knight and Smolinisky had already entered into discussions with the Paul G. Allen Trust, owner of the Oregon State franchise, and these discussions are expected to continue based on the offer made, the outlet claims. American, citing unnamed sources. Microsoft co-founder Allen bought the Trail Blazers in 1988. He died in October 2018.

Phil Knight would be worth 47 billion dollars

Although Portland is considered a fairly modest market for an NBA team, the Blazers enjoy strong fan support. Last year, Forbes had valued the franchise at $2.05 billion. The Minnesota Timberwolves, of roughly the same stature, were sold for $1.5 billion in 2021 in a deal that also included the Lynx, Minnesota’s WNBA team.

Aged 84, Phil Knight, whose personal fortune has been estimated by Forbes at around $47 billion, was born in Portland and graduated from the University of Oregon. He left his post as chairman and CEO of Nike in 2015, after 52 years at the helm of the company.