Trail Blazers are up for sale and Phil Knight is not interested this time

An earthquake hit Portland last week, as Paul Allen’s estate announced that they have begun the process of selling the Trail Blazers organization. According to a state released by the team, the sale is “consistent with Allen’s directive to eventually sell his sports holdings and direct all estate proceeds to philanthropy.”

Besides the Blazers club, Allen also owned the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks and a stake in Major League Soccer’s Seattle Sounders. Unfortunately, he died seven years ago at the age of 65 from a non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Ever since, his sister Jody has served as chair of the teams, as a trustee of his brother’s estate.

She ejected an offer to buy the Portland club from Nike co-founder Phil Knight, who reportedly proposed over $2 billion in 2022. Allen’s sister shared this news despite the fact that no ongoing discussions were being had three years ago.

“A time will come when that changes given Paul’s plans to dedicate the vast majority of his wealth to philanthropy, but estates of this size and complexity can take 10 to 20 years to wind down,” Jody stated. “There is no pre-ordained timeline by which the teams must be sold.”

After the news of the sale flooded social media, the press was all over Mr. Knight, hoping this would finally be his chance to own the franchise. However, he did acknowledge that the Trail Blazer were up for sale, but said he isn’t interested in this purchase at this point in his life.

Naturally, there was a lot of speculation around the billionaire who continues to serve as chairman emeritus of Nike, which happens to be an Oregon-based corporation. Phil did accept that he had interest in the past, but things happen for a reason.

“Five years ago, when I was a younger man, I had a great interest in being a part of the Portland Trail Blazers franchise. However, at my current age, I can confirm that I no longer have interest in acquiring the team,” the 87-year-old expressed in a statement via Nike.