Donald Sterling no longer has a future as the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, or in the NBA for that matter, after being issued a lifelong ban by commissioner Adam Silver Tuesday.
One name we’ve heard as a potential replacement owner for Sterling is Magic Johnson and the Guggenheim Partners, who also own the Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Sparks, and once made a push for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Since then, Johnson has denied interest in buying the Clippers. And a new name has surfaced in his place.
According to the Los Angeles Times, boxer Floyd Mayweather is “very interested” in owning the Clippers. “It’s not just talk,” he said of buying the Clippers. “I want to do it.”
Mayweather is among the highest-paid athletes in sports, according to ESPN the Magazine, bringing in a $73.5 million in annual earnings.
Mayweather is also known for attending both Lakers and Clippers games, and is a close friend of Kobe Bryant. He’s also earned a reputation for betting on sports in Las Vegas, but owning an NBA franchise, he said, would allow him to change his lifestyle.
“Once I get ownership of the Clippers, I can no longer bet,” Mayweather told the Los Angeles Times. “The sports book, I’d have to stop that completely.”
“I’m always talking trash to the players. It’s fun to go to the game and talk trash to the players. … But we do want to buy the Clippers, me and my team, and we can afford the Clippers.
“With me, I can’t come in and talk about Mayweather can only get 3%, 4%. I’ve got to get a solid percentage. Do we want to buy the Clippers? Yes, we do. We’re very, very interested in buying the Clippers.”
Mayweather wasn’t the only boxer to express interest in buying the Clippers Tuesday.
The retired Oscar De La Hoya, president of Golden Boy Promotions, said he, too, was considering making a bid on the team, ESPN reported. And he believes his Mexican-American heritage would be a positive for the league.
“The league has made it known that it wants more minorities involved and, as a proud Mexican-American, I will bring a different perspective to the NBA in general, and the Clippers in particular. I was born and raised in Los Angeles, I know what it takes to run a successful sports entity and nothing would make me happier than to bring an NBA championship home to Southern California sports fans.
“I applaud NBA commissioner Adam Silver for his quick and decisive action regarding in the Donald Sterling situation, and his forward thinking will push the league toward a positive future. There is no room for racism and unfair treatment in any professional sport, or in life in general. I hope to be a part of positive change for the league.”
In addition to De La Hoya and Mayweather, billionaire David Geffen, real-estate tycoon Rick Caruso, and biotech billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong are considered potential buyers.
