Donald Sterling And Wife Shelly Will Sell Clippers, How Much Will They Make?
Donald Sterling and his wife Shelly are reportedly working out an agreement to allow her to take control of the Los Angeles Clippers and sell the team. The Sterling family had been notified last week by the NBA that the league was moving forward with plans to force them to sell the Clippers. Initial reports suggested that both Donald Sterling and Shelly would fight the NBA’s decision, but according to sources of ESPN, the family is ready to fold.
The Los Angeles Clippers were thrust into the spotlight for all the wrong reasons during their playoff series with the Golden State Warriors when racist comments by Donald Sterling surfaced through TMZ. Over the course of several days in April, conversations between Donald Sterling and his alleged girlfriend V. Stiviano revealed comments denouncing the appearance of “black” people at his basketball games. Magic Johnson was a particular target of disapproval from Sterling, which he further solidified with his “apology” to Anderson Cooper.
Although the Sterling family trust — which technically owns the Clippers — were not believed to be able to keep the team, both Donald and Shelly said they would fight. While most NBA owners, who would be responsible for forcing the Sterling family to sell the Clippers, were moving forward behind NBA commissioner Adam Sterling’s decision to ban Donald Sterling, Mark Cuban seemed to come to his defense in recent days. Cuban felt that Sterling could benefit from sensitivity training and shouldn’t be forced to sell the Clippers.
With the latest information coming forward, it appears that it doesn’t matter what anyone thinks. If Donald Sterling relinquishes total control of the team to his wife Shelly and she agrees to sell the Clippers peacefully, the NBA will have an easy time getting the desired results. There is one catch.
While the outrage against Donald Sterling has been loud, there has been frustration that many have voiced: Donald Sterling is still going to get paid. The 80-year-old owner bought the Los Angeles Clippers in 1981 for just $12.5 million. The Clippers will sell for more than the $575 million they are valued at by Forbes. If the recent sale of the Milwaukee Bucks (which sold for $550 million) is any indication, then Shelly Sterling should be able to sell the Clippers for at least $750 million. Only three NBA teams are valued at over a billion dollars. The sale of the Clippers could eventually thrust the team into that range.
Donald Sterling will still profit when Shelly decides to sell the Clippers. Because the team is in both of their names, all he can actually do is give her power to negotiate for the Sterling family trust. So while everyone rejoices that Donald Sterling is out of the NBA, he will be laughing all the way to the bank. Commissioner Adam Silver and the rest of the NBA see that as a small price to pay to free the Clippers from Donald Sterling.
[Image via Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports]
