After retiring as the highest-earning on-field athlete ever, Alex Rodriguez has kept himself busy. He's invested heavily in real estate, primarily in properties around New York City and Miami. He's also attempted to own a pro sports team, missing out on various bids before finally agreeing to buy the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves and WNBA's Minnesota Lynx in a purchasing group alongside Marc Lore.
Now, Rodriguez and Lore are about to own a majority share of both franchises. They've agreed to purchase an additional 40% from former majority owner Glen Taylor. That means Rodriguez and Lore will own a collective 80% of the teams, with Taylor hanging on to the remaining 20%.
This agreement will finalize a nearly three-year process in Lore and Rodriguez purchasing the team. The duo has been acquiring additional stakes in installments. In the past couple of years, they've made a pair of purchases for 20% each, with the franchise being valued at $1.5 billion.
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There are various reports on the exact amount, though we know Taylor purchased the Timberwolves in 1994 for between $88 and $94 million. He largely did so to prevent the franchise, which was still new back then, from moving to New Orleans. It turns out the team has also been a sound business investment.
Assuming this latest sale once again values the Timberwolves at $1.5 billion, Taylor will have made $1.2 billion over the past three years. And he still owns 20% of the team, which is worth about $300 million.
That value will continue to increase if the Timberwolves can keep up their impressive play. Led by Anthony Edwards, Karl-Anthony Towns, Rudy Gobert, and Jaden McDaniels, the team is currently in first place in the Western Conference and on pace for their best season ever. The Timberwolves have never reached the NBA Finals and only made it to the Western Conference Finals once, back in 2004 with Kevin Garnett.
Meanwhile, the Lynx, which Taylor has owned since the team was founded in 1999, won four WNBA championships between 2011 and 2017. The era of that dynasty has ended, though the team has a few exciting players on the current roster, including Napheesa Collier, Kayla McBride, and Diamond Miller.
The deal for both teams is expected to be finalized in early 2024. And Rodriguez will be able to add another piece to his constantly growing portfolio.
