Michael Jordan Becomes Majority Owner of Charlotte Bobcats
Hall of Famer and six-time NBA champion Michael Jordan is now majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats.
According to ESPN, the NBA Board of Governors approved Jordan's $275 million purchase of the team on Wednesday. MJ has been serving as a minority investor with final say on basketball decisions since 2006, and he will now take over the team from former owner Bob Johnson.
"Purchasing the Bobcats is the culmination of my post-playing career goal of becoming the majority owner of an NBA franchise," said Jordan. "I am especially pleased to have the opportunity to build a winning team in my home state of North Carolina.
Sluggish ticket sales and lack of sponsors have caused the Bobcats to lose nearly $30 million in revenue this year, according to ESPN.com.
League commissioner David Stern predicted last week that the deal would happen, and is quite happy that it did. Obviously, Jordan doing anything involving the league leads to more publicity and revenue.
"We are pleased that Michael Jordan's purchase of majority ownership of the Bobcats was approved by the NBA's Board of Governors and closed in such a smooth and expeditious fashion," said Stern in a statement.
The Bobcats are currently 35-32 and are in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, currently in good standing to make the playoffs.
Jordan is scheduled to hold a press conference tonight regarding his new role.
