Stay Connected
Atlanta Black Star/Sports
Sports

When The Time Comes, Celebrities Likely to Vie to Buy the Clippers

Posted byBy Curtis Bunn | Published on: CommentsComments (0)

20131201-onc-magic-johnson-4-592x333

The Los Angeles Clippers, bound to be for sale on the open market once the NBA owners officially vote out disgraced team owner Donald Sterling, have become a draw for celebrities with significant resources. Once the worst franchise in the league, most everyone wants in on it now.

Start with Magic Johnson, the Lakers great who has become a business mogul. He seems a logical fit: He has deep NBA ties, a viable group of business partners and a record of success. He surely would appear to be the front-runner.

But many others with the financial means to bid on a team valued at about $550 million last year are reportedly interested, too.

The list includes media proprietor Oprah Winfrey, whose partners would include music mogul David Geffen and Oracle CEO Larry Ellison (who bankrolled last year’s America’s Cup-winning effort).

“Oprah is not interested in running the team,” Geffen told ESPN. “The team deserves a better group of owners who want to win. Larry would sooner die than fail. I would sooner die than fail. We’ve talked about this for a long time. Between the three of us, we have a good shot.”

Then there is boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. and his group. Mayweather defends his title Saturday night in Las Vegas and will earn about $32 million. “Do we want to buy the Clippers? Yes, we do,” he said this week. “We’re very, very interested in buying the Clippers.”

Former boxing champion and current promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, is reported to have an interest in purchasing the team. So does Diddy, the rap producer, actor Frankie Muniz of “Malcolm in the Middle” fame. Rapper/producer Dr. Dre’s name has been mentioned, as well as rapper/producer Rick Ross.

Why such interest in a franchise that has won nothing? Because it is in Los Angeles, the place of stars. It was purchased by Sterling in 1981 for $17 million and, despite no success of note, grew exponentially in value over the years. It shares the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles with the Lakers, which is a profit source with parking, ticket sales and concessions. The team is young and on the rise. The NBA has billion-dollar television contracts with TNT, ESPN, ABC and NBA-TV.

All of this is speculation, of course. Sterling has to be forced out and then has to not put up a legal fight to retain the franchise, which could drag on for years.

Independent journalism still matters.

We hope this story was worth your time. For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed Black-owned and independently run. We didn't get here by waiting on ad budgets that were never built to prioritize us. Our readers did that.

Corporate support for Black media has always been thin. Outlets like ours get roughly 1% of the $170 billion spent on U.S. advertising each year, and that margin is shrinking further as advertisers walk back the DEI-linked commitments they made in 2020. That's the backdrop. It's not why we're asking.

The wider picture isn't any steadier. Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under, it's rarely the ones built to center a Black perspective from the ground up that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Give once Give monthly Support another way

Related Stories

Back to top