The Houston Rockets will sell for a record-setting price tag
The Houston Rockets franchise is worth an estimated $1.65 billion according to Forbes, will not come cheap for prospective buyers. Here’s why.
In a move that caught many by surprise, Houston Rockets owner Leslie Alexander announced his intentions to sell the team last month in a press release statement issued out by team CEO Tad Brown on July 17.
Fueling conjecture that the organization with two NBA championships, could possibly sell at the highest price in the history of North American sports.
Potentially impacting the league as we know it.
The Rockets currently feature two of the game’s premier stars in Chris Paul and James Harden, and are coming off of arguably one of its greatest seasons in franchise history, making them an ideal draw for any potential buyer, and a legitimate candidate for a record-setting sale.
On top of that, the team lies in the country’s fourth-most populated city, which is expected to grow even more over the next decade.
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Yet, the Rockets are not just Houston’s team. It is China’s too.
A place where the game of basketball has never been more popular, and has served as the second home for the franchise since selecting the nation’s native son Yao Ming with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2002 NBA Draft.
However, the buck does not stop there.
Earlier this summer, the Rockets officially signed center Zhou Qi — the best big man out of China, to a multi-year deal.
As fans from the Middle Kingdom, could not be more excited to see the 21-year-old phenom make his arrival onto the scene next season.
No one knows how much the team will be sold for, although it will most certainly not come at a bargain tag.
According to Forbes, the Rockets are currently the eighth-most valuable franchise in the NBA, worth slightly over $1 billion.
And while it is only just an estimate, franchises in mid-sized markets — with less appeal and intrigue — have been auctioned off at astronomical premiums over the last couple of years.
In 2014, hedge fund billionaires Wes Edens and Marc Lasry came together to purchase the Milwaukee Bucks for $550 million. Followed by ex-Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer — who dished out a record $2 billion — to acquire the Los Angeles Clippers following the Donald Sterling scandal.
The following year, private equity firm manager Anthony Ressler and his ownership group purchased the Atlanta Hawks for just under $900 million.
Brown has not sought to place an overall timetable on the Rockets sale just yet, stating that the team would not seek to rush the process as they seek to find the right buyer.
One thing is clear though: Alexander could not have sought out a better time than now to cash in on his most prized investment.
Not long ago, the NBA signed off on a nine-year, $24 billion broadcast agreement with ESPN and Turner Sports, in a deal that helped the league’s annual revenue stream and respective owners rake in more money than ever before.
TV ratings for the last year’s NBA Finals, were the highest since a man by the name of Michael Jordan won his last championship in Chicago.
Overall attendance at games has gone up while the Rockets continue to maintain one of the league’s premier franchises from top to bottom.
As a result, they can provide incredible stability to the next predecessor who awaits to take over the reigns as majority owner.
Key figures apart of the Rockets such as general manager Daryl Morey and Harden recently signed extensions to remain in Houston for the foreseeable future, all things that could be used as a major selling point to prospective buyers in the coming months.
The Golden State Warriors might be the defending world champions, but the Rockets are the league’s most valuable team to hit the open market, and the closest team to competing with them out in the Western Conference, in what has become the arms race.
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Making them worth well over $2 billion.