Glen Taylor cedes ownership of Timberwolves and Lynx to Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez

The drawn-out drama surrounding the sale of the Minnesota Timberwolves is finally over.

More than a year after Glen Taylor sought to retain majority control of the franchise by canceling its $1.5 billion sale to Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez, Taylor is ending that battle.

Lore and Rodriguez will become controlling owners after Taylor decided he will not appeal a 2-1 February arbitration ruling against him. The panel ruled Taylor was not operating within the legal framework of the purchase agreement when he attempted to call off the sale in March 2024.

The sale includes the Minnesota Lynx, the most successful franchise in WNBA history.

Forbes values the Timberwolves at $3.1 billion, third-lowest among the NBA’s 30 franchises. In this sale, the Wolves and Lynx are a package deal; Sportico rates the value of the Lynx independently at $85 million.

The NBA Board of Governors must still approve the sale; it needs the support of 23 of the 30 NBA owners, including Taylor, to pass. Lore and Rodriguez will take 100% control at the price the sides agreed to in 2021; they now own about 40% of the franchises after completing separate purchases in 2021 and 2023.

The new owners are expected to want a new arena, and that process will likely ramp up once they assume control. There would be a $50 million penalty for breaking the lease at Target Center, which opened in 1990 and was renovated in 2017.

The three principals in the sale did not issue statements Wednesday; neither they nor their representatives responded to requests for comment.

Lore, 53, and Rodriguez, 49, have committed to keeping the team in Minnesota from the day they joined the ownership group. Their statement after the arbitration ruling made reference to their intent to win championships “in Minnesota.” Lore, a billionaire tech entrepreneur, and Rodriguez, who made $475 million in salary during a 22-year Major League Baseball career, have added billionaire New York City businessman Michael Bloomberg to their group.

Taylor, who bought the Wolves from Harvey Ratner and Marv Wolfenson for $94 million in 1994, has also owned the Lynx since they started play in 1999. The purchase agreement stipulates that Taylor, who also owns the Minnesota Star Tribune, would receive, without charge, four courtside seats, one suite and two reserved parking spaces for every Wolves and Lynx game.

Those benefits would go to Taylor, 83, for 10 seasons; he lives most of the time in Naples, Fla., but recently returned to Wolves games after an absence following hip replacement surgery late last year.

The NBA champion Boston Celtics sold earlier this year for $6.1 billion after they had been valued by Forbes at $6 billion. Forbes has the Golden State Warriors ranked No. 1 in value at $8.8 billion.

The Timberwolves exceeded the NBA’s luxury tax threshold for 2024-25, and Taylor had to pay a penalty of more than $85 million this season. They are considered a second apron team, and have roster-building restrictions in addition to the luxury tax.

Two Wolves players, Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert, have base salaries of more than $42 million per season. The team advanced to the NBA Western Conference finals last season, but traded All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns before this season, partly because of salary-cap issues.

The Timberwolves are 44-32 this season, tied for sixth in the Western Conference.

Lore and Rodriguez bought an initial 20% ownership stake from Taylor in May 2021, then a second 20% in December 2022. The call option on a third tranche, to give Lore and Rodriguez an additional 40% of Taylor’s ownership stake and majority control of the Wolves and Lynx, was exercised Dec. 31, 2023.

The contract gave Lore and Rodriguez 90 days from that date to complete the purchase. Taylor canceled exactly 90 days after the call option. It was revealed that Lore and Rodriguez had lost the financial backing of the Carlyle Group, which Taylor said was set to put in $300 million for the deal. It was unclear whether the investment firm withdrew its funding or the NBA denied its participation.

Despite that last-minute setback, Lore and Rodriguez maintained they had another source of funding ready when Taylor canceled the sale. The backing of Bloomberg, the 83-year-old former mayor of New York City who has a net worth of more than $100 billion, appears to be one of the sources. ESPN has reported other partners include former Google executive Eric Schmidt and the private-equity fund Blue Owl Capital.

A subsection of the purchase agreement labeled “Call Option Closing” noted Lore and Rodriguez would be given an automatic 90-day extension on their option if “all NBA approvals or other required approvals of any Governmental Entity have not yet been obtained.”

The arbitration panel determined that extension should have been granted and Taylor’s cancellation was a breach of contract.

The date to finalize the sale is unclear, as there is no set time for the Board of Governors to convene. But standard practice in the NBA is a 90-day window to investigate the new owners.