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FACT BRIEF

Has a professional sports team owner offered to pay $3.5 billion for a share of the Milwaukee Bucks?

By Tom Kertscher
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NO

A co-owner of the Milwaukee Bucks has reached an agreement to sell his share of the National Basketball Association team, but the sale isn’t final —and $3.5 billion isn't the selling price.

Here’s what we know based on news reports, given that the NBA has not approved the sale:

ESPN and The Athletic reported on Feb. 27, 2023, and other media confirmed, that Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry reached an agreement to sell his share to Jimmy Haslam and the Haslam Sports Group. The group owns the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League and the Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer.

The news reports said the agreement calls for the sale under a $3.5 billion “valuation” of the Bucks. In other words, the franchise’s total value.

Lasry owns roughly 25% of the Bucks. Twenty-five percent of $3.5 billion would be $875 million.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Marc Lasry agrees to sell his stake of the Milwaukee Bucks to Haslams
ESPN Lasry agrees to sell his stake in Bucks to Haslams
The Athletic Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry agrees to sell his team stake to Browns owner Jimmy Haslam: Sources
Wisconsin Public Radio AP sources: Haslams agree to purchase Lasry's stake in Bucks
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Wisconsin Watch
Wisconsin Watch, the news arm of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, increases the quality and quantity of investigative reporting in Wisconsin, while training current and future investigative journalists. Its work fosters an informed citizenry and strengthens democracy.
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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.