Paul Allen’s Legacy in Play: Trail Blazers Up for Auction with Millions Set to Fuel Hidden Philanthropy
There’s something bittersweet about the Portland Trail Blazers entering a new chapter of ownership — a process laid out years ago by Paul Allen, the visionary co-founder of Microsoft who never just saw the team as a local treasure but as a global asset destined, eventually, to fuel charitable causes. With Tuesday marking the official kickoff of the franchise’s sale, it feels like a moment where legacy meets commerce, strategy bumps up against sentiment. Paul’s passing in 2018 set this slow-moving engine in motion, handing the reins to his sister, Jody Allen, whose steady stewardship merged personal passion with practical timing — holding off on a sale until the NBA’s landscape, including that all-important collective bargaining agreement and TV deal, sharpened the team’s value. Now, with the market buzzing — and valuations pegging the Trail Blazers north of $3.5 billion — speculation runs wild, from Nike’s Phil Knight to other deep-pocketed suitors. Yet, if there’s one certainty, it’s that Portland won’t be packing up and moving out. The NBA’s Pacific Northwest presence is only growing, Seattle’s franchise coming soon, and Commissioner Adam Silver’s clear on preserving this basketball bastion. Meanwhile, inside the arena, continuity reigns as Portland locks in key pieces to the puzzle, staking a claim on future promise. Change is coming, no doubt — but it’s wrapped in respect and optimism, ready to write the next page of a uniquely Portland tale.
CNBC’s 2025 NBA franchise valuations listed the Trail Blazers as worth .65 billion. That list also had the Boston Celtics listed as worth .5 billion, and that team was recently sold to Bill Chisholm and partners for .1 billion. How much the Celtics’ sale price might impact the Portland price is hard to say. Tuesday that process started, the Trail Blazers announced.It’s been known in league circles for a while that this was coming, although the exact timing was always in question. Allen passed away in October of 2018, at which point control of the franchise transferred to Jody Allen, his sister, as well as the trustee of his estate. Jody Allen seemed to enjoy the spotlight of being an owner, and the process to put the team up for sale seemed to drag out longer than Blazers fans would have preferred. It also made some business sense to put the sale off until the new CBA was ratified and the new television deal was in place, upping the price for the franchise.Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen loved owning the Portland Trail Blazers, but he had a global perspective on what he wanted from the franchise after his death: His will called for the team to eventually be sold and all the money to be put into charitable efforts.
On the court, the Blazers showed real promise at the end of last season and with that locked up GM Joe Cronin and coach Chauncey Billups with extensions. Plenty of buyers will likely throw their hat in the ring — Nike founder Phil Knight is known to have interest — but whoever buys the franchise, don’t expect it to be on the move. The NBA is about to bring another team to the Pacific Northwest — Seattle is a lock for an expansion team when the league makes that official — and Adam Silver does not want to lose the one other team in the region. Whoever the new owner is will likely want to look at building a new arena, probably as part of a larger development (a trend around the league).
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