Phil Knight, the co-founder of Nike, has repeatedly tried to get in touch with the late Paul Allen’s sister, Jody, with the aim of buying the Portland Trail Blazers, but the NBA franchise owner’s insisted that the team is not for sale, time and time again. 

Knight and part-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Alan Smolinisky, who built his wealth by building student housing around the University of Southern California, submitted an offer of more than $2billion to purchase the team in June, 2022. 

That bid, however, was rejected without so much as a counteroffer, according to The Wall Street Journal. Jody Allen inherited her brother’s $20B wealth after the death of Microsoft’s co-founder from septic shock related to cancer in October 2018, at the age of 65.

He and his sister founded Vulcan Inc. in 1986, a privately held company that’s still managing his business and philanthropic efforts, today. It holds a multi-billion dollar investment portfolio that includes the likes of the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks, the Seattle Sounders, of the MLS, and of course, the Trail Blazers. 

‘Phil Knight and I have not spoken,’ Jody Allen told the WSJ following reports of last year’s offer. 

Knight, a Portland native who’s built his wealth off Nike’s transformation from a track-and-field shoe brand to a multi-billion international apparel company, is said to be longing at the prospect of owning the ‘Blazers so much that he’ll ensure for the team to stay in his hometown. 

The Trail Blazers’ lease with the city of Portland runs through 2025. It includes iron-clad language that would ensure the team stays through at least 2023.  

While working towards an extension to keep the team in the Northwest, Jody Allen’s referred Knight and Smolinisky to Bert Kolde, the vice chairman of the Trail Blazers and a former associate of Paul Allen, according to The Journal. 

Kolde echoed the owner’s position to Knight and Smolinisky — the ‘Trail Blazers remain not for sale.’ 

Earlier this year, Knight and Smolinisky approached Allen with an offer worth more than the $2billion submitted last summer due to the surging value of sports teams, following the Broncos’ sale to Walmart heir, Rob Walton, who bought the Denver Broncos for $4.6B.

But Jody Allen turnd down the duo’s bid once more, directing them to Kolde.

Smolinisky also sent a handwritten letter to Allen, requesting for a meeting in hopes that he and Allen could hash out terms to buy the Trail Blazers, The Journal reported.

But Allen replied with an email of her own, once again affirming that the team was not listed on the market, despite her brother’s wishes for most of his fortune to be liquidated and proceedings to be donated to charity. 

Paul Allen was an advocate of Bill Gates’ and Warren Buffet’s ‘Giving Pledge’ to donate the majority of their wealth to charity. He was never married and didn’t have kids. Other than his estate’s worth, not much is known about its details. 

For now, the Seahawks and Trail Blazers remain off market, according to The Journal.

What’s more is that Allen plans to sell off her brother’s assets through a process that could take as long as 20 years, Rachel Bachman, of The Journal, reported. 

‘As Jody said publicly last year, the sports teams are not for sale,’ a spokesperson for Vulcan confirmed to The Journal. ‘That will eventually change pursuant to Paul’s wishes, but there is no pre-ordained timeline for when that will happen.’

‘Interested parties can engage when we establish a sales process at some point in the future.’ 

Paul Allen paid $70M to acquire the Trail Blazers in 1988. He purchased the Seahawks for $194M in 1997. 

Nowadays, the NBA franchise is worth at least $2.1B and the only NFL team in Washington is worth some $4.5B, according to Forbes.