The Connecticut Sun is on the verge of starting a new chapter as the franchise has agreed to a $300 million sale to Tilman Fertitta, with a move to Houston targeted for 2027 pending a sign-off by the WNBA Board of Governors.

This comes despite stronger $325M offers from groups led by Steve Pagliuca in Boston and Marc Lasry in Hartford. That being said, the question that remains is why buyers couldn't move the Connecticut Sun out of Uncasville despite offering bigger payouts.

The answer, as per a report by Sports Business Journal, was rooted in league policy and expansion strategy.

According to SBJ, relocation was never left to the buyer, as such decisions were made by the Board of Governors, effectively restricting both Pagliuca and Lasry from purchasing the franchise.

Valuation was the other problem.

In Uncasville, the Sun were worth closer to $250M. The $325M offers only made sense if the team moved to a bigger market. Once relocation was blocked, the math did not work, and both groups walked away.

Furthermore, the league was also in the middle of an expansion, with new teams slated to pop up in Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia.

Boston was already in line for its own expansion franchise, which meant absorbing an existing team would have created a conflict.

The WNBA was not going to let a relocation deal disrupt that process, and with both higher bids gone, the path was clear for a buyer who fit the league's direction.

Why the Connecticut Sun Sale Favored Tilman Fertitta

Tilman Fertitta's $300M bid while lower than the other bidders', still set a new record for a WNBA team sale.

Having said that, it made more sense for the league to go with Fertitta, as he already owns the Houston Rockets, has a ready arena in the Toyota Center, and fits the league's push toward NBA-backed ownership.

The league was also willing to approve the Houston move, something it was never going to do for Boston or Hartford.

The sellers, the Mohegan Tribe, needed a clean deal above everything else. Carrying roughly $3.1B in debt due to declining table holds, they could not afford a complicated or drawn-out transaction.

A lower but straightforward offer was worth more to them than a higher bid with conditions attached. Once the other two groups lost their relocation case, Tilman Fertitta was the only option left for the Connecticut Sun.

With the sale in place, Tilman Fertitta plans to revive the Houston Comets brand and open season ticket deposits ahead of a 2027 launch, giving Houston a WNBA team for the first time in over two decades.

Written by

Sauramita Debbarma

Edited by

Arvind Rao