Utah Jazz Sells, Luke Smith, Qualtrics, Gail Miller, Miller Family Fortune, Joe Ingles

It was the fourth highest purchase price paid for a basketball franchise after the Brooklyn Nets ($ 2.35 billion in 2019), the Houston Rockets ($ 2.2 billion in 2017), and the LA Clippers ( $ 2 billion in 2014).

But it’s a mind-boggling sum considering the sale happened in the middle of a pandemic – and jazz is in one of the league’s smallest markets.

Forbes magazine ranked jazz 21st among the NBA’s 30 clubs earlier this year at $ 1.55 billion.

But the Miller family did a little better, completing the incredible story of Larry H. Miller, who bought the team in two transactions in the mid-1980s for a total of only $ 26.8 million.

Miller was a softball pitcher who worked as a parts manager for Toyota before buying his own dealership in 1979 with the help of his uncle.

From that small start, his portfolio grew to include dozens of car dealerships, a number of movie theaters, a television station, and other businesses while he satisfied his love of sports through jazz and a minor league baseball franchise.

Miller died in 2009 after losing just a single season in 25 years, but gave control of the team to his widow Gail.

She has now turned the franchise over to 40-year-old Ryan Smith, who will take a controlling stake in the team, Jazz Stadium’s Vivint Arena, and Salt Lake City basketball and baseball clubs if the other 29 NBA owners approve the sale.

Smith has a track record of his own with Qualtrics, a software program that enables companies to create surveys, in 2002 before selling it for $ 8 billion in 2018.

Smith is a lifelong resident of Utah and has been a corporate partner of jazz for many years, including a philanthropic patch that raised $ 25 million over the past several years.

“I’ve known Ryan for several years and admire the values ​​that he and his wife, Ashley, live by. You have such a love and connection with Utah and this team, ”said Gail Miller, chairman of the Larry H. Miller Group.

“Because of our friendship and several high-level conversations over the years, Ryan recently reached out to our organization to inquire about the opportunity to purchase the Utah Jazz and some of our other sports and entertainment properties.

“After many soul-seeking, lengthy discussions and detailed evaluations of our long-term goals, my family and I decided that this was the right time to pass on our responsibility and the cherished responsibility of 35 years to Ryan and Ashley, who share our values ​​and are committed to to keep the team in Utah. “

The Miller family will retain a minority stake in Jazz, the team that includes Australian Joe Ingles, who played between 44 and 28 last season and lost to Denver in the first round of the playoffs.

“We all owe a great debt to the Miller family for the amazing responsibility they have had for this asset over the past 35 years,” said Smith.

“My wife and I are absolutely humble and excited about the opportunity to lead the team far into the future – especially with the biggest fans in the NBA … We look forward to building on their lifelong work.”

– with AFP