Memphis Grizzlies Sale: How Reported Billionaire Buyer Will Affect Franchise
As sports fans, it is our collective dream to earn $1 billion and buy a sports team. On Monday, Ubiquiti Networks founder Robert Pera made that dream a reality and bought the Memphis Grizzlies.
Sources told ESPN that Pera will buy the team for roughly $350 million.
At just 34 years of age, Pera is one of Forbes' 10 youngest billionaires in the world and was worth an estimated $1.5 billion in March of this year.
The 34-year-old Pera will become the youngest owner of an NBA team, which bodes well for the Grizzlies.
Pera is a very motivated, highly successful person. He was an engineer for Apple before leaving the company to start Ubiquiti Networks at age 25 and is now worth over $1 billion.
Pera is also an avid basketball fan who understands both the game and its business side. According to the ESPN report, he plays four to five times per week and is a huge fan.
Like their owner, the Grizzlies are a young team. The 2011-12 roster did not have a single player on the team who was over the age of 30.
Memphis came from the depths of mediocrity, made the playoffs in back-to-back seasons and, this year, came very close to winning a playoff series against the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Grizzlies have a bright future that will likely stay in Memphis. Pera wants to keep the team in Memphis, according to the ESPN report.
This is an exciting time for the Grizzlies, and thanks to Pera, this team could become a contender in the Western Conference.
We know that Pera is a very wealthy man who understands both the game and the business side of things. We also know that he is willing to take risks, as he took one by leaving Apple to start his own company.
From this we can infer that he is not going to be afraid to spend money because he has a business to support the team and himself on the side. He is the type of owner who will make sure that his GM is willing to sign the best players available—no matter the cost.
While this is purely speculation at this point, he strikes me as the type of owner who is not comfortable sitting back but will instead make sure that the team is moving forward in order to become a true contender.
With Pera in charge, the Grizzlies will be able to emerge as a playoff team year after year, and fans should rejoice in the young billionaire taking control of the franchise.
