Utah Jazz Sold Will Be Sold To Qualtrics Founder Ryan Smith For $1.66 Billion
Andrew Thornton Gail Miller and her family have agreed to sell the Utah Jazz to Ryan Smith, the founder of Qualtrics, for $1.66 million.
The news was broken by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. Vivint Arena, the home of the Jazz, will be part of the purchase deal. The agreement won't be official until the league's board of governors approve of it, per Wojnarowski.
Forbes lists Smith's net worth at $1.3 billion. In 2016, Forbes listed Smith as the 37th richest American entrepreneur under the age of 40. In Nov. 2018, he sold Quantrics to SAP for $8 billion.
Miller's late husband, Larry H. Miller, purchased 50 percent in the Jazz interest in 1985. One year later, he bought the remaining 50 percent interest to become full owner of the franchise.
Larry Miller passed away in 2009, and Gail assumed ownership of the Jazz.
Smith now has the difficult task of sustaining a winning franchise that the Millers crafted for over three decades. Wojnarowski noted that dating back to 1989-90, the Jazz have the second best winning percentage (.592) among all NBA teams.
Only the San Antonio Spurs, who've won five championships dating back to the 1999 season, have a greater winning percentage over that span.
The Jazz are coming off their fourth straight playoff berth. Led by All-Stars Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell, Utah has emerged as one of the top title contenders in the Western Conference.
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The Jazz reached the Western Conference Semifinals in 2017 and 2018, but they were eliminated by the Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets, respectively. In 2018-19, the Houston Rockets dispatched Utah in five games during opening round play.
Utah finished as the No. 6 seed (44-28) in the Western Conference this season. However, they were eliminated by the Denver Nuggets in a thrilling seven-game series.
The core players from 2019-20 are still on the roster, so the Jazz should still be among the top title contenders in 2020-21.
