Alex Rodriguez is set to increase his ownership stake in the Minnesota Timberwolves and Minnesota Lynx after a new deal valued the franchises at $4.5 billion, more than triple the price he and his business partner paid to acquire them five years ago.
Businessman Marc Lore has agreed to sell his majority stake in both franchises to investor Marc Stad, according to the report. The sale sets a new valuation for the organizations at $4.5 billion.
Rodriguez will not sell his own share of the team. Instead, he will grow his stake in a business whose value has tripled in five years, according to the report.
From $1.5 billion to $4.5 billion
The new figure carries particular weight for Rodriguez and Lore, who agreed in 2021 to gradually acquire the franchises when they were valued at around $1.5 billion.
Rodriguez retired from Major League Baseball with one of the largest fortunes ever built by a professional athlete. His contracts across 22 seasons in the majors totaled $485 million, according to the website Spotrac. But his business ventures as an entrepreneur appear to have surpassed that figure in net worth, which has just received a significant boost.
Rodriguez is the only Dominican to be a co-owner of a sports franchise in one of the five major leagues in the United States.
Details of the new ownership structure
The exact terms of the new ownership structure have not been disclosed. However, sources cited by ESPN said Rodriguez will increase his percentage of ownership in the teams.
Rodriguez will remain a co-owner alongside Stad, who will take over as governor of both the Lynx and the Timberwolves. Rodriguez has also reaffirmed his commitment to the Twin Cities and to the continuity of the basketball operations structure, which is led by Tim Connelly, the Timberwolves' president of basketball operations, and head coach Chris Finch.
