by Daniel Johnson
15 September 2024
The former Milwaukee Bucks player will buy 15% of the team.
And that brings things full circle: Former Milwaukee Bucks swingman Junior Bridgeman is reportedly close to purchasing a 15 percent stake in the franchise he played for for much of his NBA career.
According to the Louisville Courier-Journal, the 70-year-old Bridgeman, whose jersey number 2 has been retired by the Bucks, will receive a preferred limited partner discount that gives him a 15% stake in the organization.
According to CNBC, Bridgeman currently owns Jet and Ebony magazines. The deal suggests the Milwaukee Bucks, a minor NBA franchise, are worth $4 billion. According to their sources, the NBA was expected to inform the owners of the sale in a memo on September 12.
Bridgeman has built a net worth of over $600 million, largely through his success with various businesses, including fast-food restaurants and operating a Coca-Cola bottling plant. Neither the Milwaukee Bucks nor Bridgeman himself commented to CNBC about the sale.
Despite finishing third in the Eastern Conference last season, the team suffered losses because it had to pay the $52 million luxury tax, the fourth-highest luxury tax payment in the NBA, according to Sports Illustrated.
The Bucks are expected to face similar luxury tax challenges in the 2024-2025 NBA season, as Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard and Khris Middleton will earn $48 million, $45 million and $31 million, respectively. The team's last ownership change came in April 2023, when Cleveland Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam bought a 25 percent stake from former co-owner Marc Lasry. At that time, before the NBA's new TV contract, the Bucks were valued at $3.2 billion.
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