Phoenix Suns likely to fetch record sale price for an NBA team, bankers say

As Robert Sarver prepares to sell the NBA's Phoenix Suns and the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury, investment bank officials who have managed the sales of professional sports franchises told ESPN that they expect the transaction's final price to set a record.

«It'll be the highest price ever paid for an NBA team,» one investment bank official said.

Joe Tsai bought the Brooklyn Nets for an NBA-record $2.35 billion in 2019. Prior to that sale, Tilman Fertitta purchased the Houston Rockets for $2.2 billion in 2017, with Steve Ballmer buying the LA Clippers for $2 billion in 2014.

Factors playing into a potential record bid could be the Suns' warm-weather climate and proximity to Los Angeles, Las Vegas and the Bay Area, as well as the team's new practice facility and renovated arena. Additional factors include a new television rights deal and CBA on the horizon, plus the NBA's young and growing global audience and the potential for new expansion teams in Seattle and Las Vegas.

«There's going to be a tremendous amount of interest,» an investment bank official said.

Sarver has chosen the investment bank Moelis & Company to oversee the sale, a source close to the situation confirmed to ESPN. Sportico reported Monday that Sarver had chosen the bank. A spokesperson for Moelis & Co. declined to comment.

Moelis served as a financial adviser in the May 2022 sale of Chelsea Football Club to a consortium led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, which bought the team for $5.3 billion. Moelis also acted as a financial adviser in the 2015 sale of the Atlanta Hawks to a group led by Tony Ressler for $850 million.

In recent days, Suns executive vice president and CFO Jim Pitman relayed to team employees that a fully executed sale of the team could