It is still early in the bidding process for the Clippers and it is quite possible that the price could go higher, especially if interested parties join forces to buy the team. Still, I must tip my hat to Bill Simmons, who predicted at the end of April that the basketball team would fetch $1.75 billion. Donald Sterling bought the Clippers in June, 1981 for $12.5 million. NBA owners are voting June 3 to force he and his wife Rochelle to sell the team due to racist comments made by him in private that were taped and subsequently made public.

Rochelle Sterling, who has taken the lead in running the sale of the team, is employing a strategy similar to the one used by Frank McCourt when he sold the Los Angeles Dodgers two years ago to maximize the sale price: conduct a blind auction that initially is devoid of interference from the league. Guggenheim Baseball Management paid $2 billion for the Dodgers and their stadium, $500 million more than the next highest bidder, hedge fund titan Steve Cohen, was willing to pay.

The sale of the Clippers will illustrate that even an NBA team devoid of a title can be a great long term investment in the right market. Should the Clippers sell for $1.8 billion, it would be the second-highest price ever paid for a U.S. sports team and would work out to a 16.3% compound annual rate of return. Over the same period the S&P 500 posted an annual return (including reinvested dividends) of 11.3%. The stellar 16.3% return would still lag the 26% annualized return McCourt generated from owning the Dodgers, alas.

But the sale process is not over and don’t be shocked if the final price comes in at over $2 billion.

OasisBU wrote:How much MSFT stock does he have? Probably barely put a dent in his shares. Although I see on ESPN he is part of a group so it's not all his coin.

Unfortunately I don't think he was the best CEO and doubt he will do better at owning a team but since it's his cash who knows.

He is worth 20 bio...

Boy the Bucks only got 500mm they shouldve waited.

If the Clippers are worth 2B are the Knicks worth 4 B?

What if he's planning on moving the Clips to Seattle? Just saying! That would completely excise the ghost of Sterling and move them out from under the Lakers shadow forever.

H1AND1 wrote:Wasn't Ballmer part of the last ditch effort to buy the Sonics and keep them in Seattle?

What if he's planning on moving the Clips to Seattle? Just saying! That would completely excise the ghost of Sterling and move them out from under the Lakers shadow forever.

they're worth $2B because they're in LA. In Seattle, they're probably worth half or less, easy.