Steven Rales Buys Minority Share of Indiana Pacers; Simon Family Remains in Control

Indiana Pacers chairman and owner Herbert Simon announced on Thursday that Steven Rales is set to become a minority owner of 20 percent of the team pending league approval.

According to Evan Sidery of Forbes, Rales already owned 5 percent of the Pacers and purchased another 15 percent at a $3.47 billion evaluation. He's reportedly spent a total of $525.5 million to now possess 20 percent of the franchise.

Sidery noted that Rales is a billionaire businessman and film director who Forbes' evaluation determined has a real-time net worth of $7.5 billion.

The Simon family has had control of the Pacers since they purchased the team in 1983 for $11 million. There's reportedly a chance that Thursday's deal eventually leads to a change in ownership.

According to Kurt Badenhausen and Eben Novy-Williams of Sportico, "The deal includes a possible path to control for Rales should the Simon family ever choose to sell, according to two of the people. That could be the standard 'right of first refusal' if the owners ever want to sell, or a 'right of first offer,' which gives the buyer an exclusive window to secure a deal before a wider sale process is launched."

The Pacers were valued at $2.02 billion last season by Sportico, which ranked 22nd in the NBA. However, that number is expected to "increase dramatically when the number is updated later this year."

The Pacers have a 9-7 record entering Thursday night's game against the Miami Heat. Led by star point guard Tyrese Haliburton, the team has one of the most exciting young cores in the NBA.

Editor's note: An earlier version of this story said Steven Rales is a co-owner of the Washington Commanders. We regret the error.