America’s super-rich line up to buy NBA’s LA Clippers

The 30 teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA) are worth $19bn, earned a total of $1.3bn last season on gate receipts, and perhaps unsurprisingly, rarely hit the market, writes Anja Popp.

So last week was an exciting time for those rich enough to consider buying into one of America’s most lucrative sports. No sooner had NBA Commissioner Adam Silver imposed the most stringent sanctions in NBA history, banning LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling for life from the NBA and urging the board of governors to force him to sell, than prospective buyers were expressing their interest.

Sterling’s punishment came after uproar over a leaked recording of him berating his girlfriend for keeping company with black players. Sterling’s racist views were not unknown before this, but this was the first time there had been international condemnation, and the spotlight was on the NBA to take decisive action against him.

Defining moment

The sanctions forced upon Sterling are seen as a defining moment in the league, where over 70 per cent of the players are black but whose team owners are mainly white.

The punishment for Sterling, who was also ordered to pay the highest possible fine of $2.5m, highlighted how far the NBA would go to avoid further damaging its billion-dollar industry. The clear indignation Silver expressed when delivering the penalties resonated with all in and around the basketball community.

But the issue around the black-white balance in the league has once again been brought into the spotlight. Many are keen to get more black owners in the sport – a sport, as Barack Obama put it, that is “steeped in African American culture”.

Either way, there is no shortage of people keen to bid for the club, if it becomes available.

Read Kylie Morris: LA Clippers owner Sterling fined and banned over 'racist' comments

Success and diversity

American icon Oprah Winfrey (above, left) is in discussions with entertainment mogul David Geffen (above, right), and CEO of software giant Oracle, Larry Ellison (above, centre), to buy the club.

The group is a favourable mix for those wanting success and more diversity in the sport. Ellison’s Oracle Team USA won the America’s Cup – a major yachting race – against all odds last year, with funding for the campaigns coming largely from his personal wealth. Geffen would be the first openly gay owner of an NBA team, and Winfrey would be the first black female owner in the league.

Geffen reportedly tried to buy the Clippers in 2010, and his office claims he is still interested. The trio has a combined net worth of $59.4bn.

Earvin “Magic” Johnson, the former Lakers player and basketball star, is rumoured to be interested in buying the club, although he has refused to comment. He currently owns the Dodgers baseball team and used to own 4.5 per cent of the LA Lakers.

A photo of Johnson and Sterling’s girlfriend fuelled Sterling’s racist tirade. Johnson later said on Twitter: “I will never go to a Clippers game again as long as Donald Sterling is the owner.”

.@cjbycookie and I will never go to a Clippers game again as long as Donald Sterling is the owner.

— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) April 26, 2014

‘Knicks fan’

Once opponents in the ring, now possible rivals in the bid for the Clippers, boxers Floyd Mayweather Jr (above, right) and Oscar De La Hoya (above, left) have both expressed interest in buying the club.

Mayweather, a keen fan of the Clippers, would be buying with a team of other millionaires. De La Hoya suggested he would even join forces with Mayweather, and promised to bring a different perspective, as a Mexican American, to the NBA.

Other possibilities include billionaire property developer Rick Caruso who previously showed interest in buying baseball team the Dodgers, and Patrick Soon-Shiong, the billionaire doctor. Soon-Shiong also tried to buy the Dodgers, and bought Johnson’s stake in the Lakers when he sold it.

Even rapper P Diddy wants a bit of the action. He announced on Twitter: “I will always be a Knicks fan, but I am a business man. #DiddyBuyTheClippers #NameYourPrice”

Don’t get excited

So how much is the 13th most valuable NBA team worth? Sterling, who has the longest tenure as owner in the NBA, bought the club for $12.5m in 1981, but the Clippers’ value now totals at least $575m, according to Forbes.

For Sterling to be forced to sell, 75 per cent of NBA clubs would have to vote in favour. This means if all other 29 teams vote, there would need to be 22 yes votes. If the Clippers are given a vote, the number needed to force the sale rises to 23.

But those keen to oust Sterling shouldn’t get excited just yet. Sterling is yet to show any desire to sell the team, and even if he’s forced to, it’s likely to be a long process.

It took one year from the time Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig stripped Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt of his control on the team, to completion of the team’s sale, with an arduous legal battle throughout.

Magic Johnson benefitted from the forced-sale of the LA Dodgers, buying the team alongside others for a record $2bn.

Justification for a forced sale typically involves financial issues, such as failing to make payments on time or gambling on NBA games – neither of which Sterling has done, meaning a long legal battle is likely unless Sterling agrees to sell.

Sterling’s position as owner has undoubtedly become untenable. Fans and sponsors will be watching to see how Sterling’s final game plays out, and perhaps more importantly, whether the racial balance in owners begins to even out.

Anja Popp is an intern with Channel 4 News in Washington