WNBA Blocks Record $325M Connecticut Sun Sale Amid Relocation Battle

The WNBA is effectively blocking what would be a record-breaking $325 million sale of the Connecticut Sun, creating a high-stakes battle over the future of the franchise and highlighting tensions between team owners and league control.

The Deal That Started It All

Steve Pagliuca, a former Boston Celtics minority owner, reached an agreement with the Mohegan Tribe to purchase the Connecticut Sun for $325 million - the highest price ever paid for a professional women's team. The deal included an additional $100 million commitment for a new practice facility in Boston, with plans to relocate the team there by 2027. The move seemed logical on paper. The Sun have sold out TD Garden twice in recent years when playing games in Boston, demonstrating strong market demand. Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey has publicly supported bringing a WNBA team to Boston for years.

League Pushback

But the WNBA has thrown up significant roadblocks:

• Bureaucratic Stonewalling: Despite the Mohegan Tribe presenting the deal terms to Commissioner Cathy Engelbert in July, the league never brought the proposal before the Board of Governors for approval, allowing Pagliuca's 30-day exclusivity window to expire.
• Official Opposition: The league issued a pointed statement emphasizing that "relocation decisions are made by the WNBA Board of Governors and not by individual teams." More tellingly, the WNBA noted that Boston didn't submit an expansion bid in recent rounds, giving other cities priority.
• Financial Interference: The league made its own counter-offer to purchase the Sun for just $250 million - $75 million less than Pagliuca's bid - without charging a relocation fee. This would allow the WNBA to hand-pick the team's destination and new owner.

The Bidding War Intensifies

The league's resistance has spawned multiple competing offers:

• The Boston Bid: Pagliuca's original $325 million offer remains on the table, with the promise of relocating to a major market with proven fan support.
• The Hartford Alternative: Former Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry has matched the $325 million offer but would keep the team in Connecticut, moving games to Hartford's renovated PeoplesBank Arena.
• The Houston Wild Card: Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta is reportedly interested and could match the price while adding a relocation fee - something sources suggest the league would prefer.

The Mohegan Tribe, which has owned the franchise since 2003, wants to maximize value in an open market. The league wants to control where teams go and who owns them. The WNBA has shown a clear preference for NBA ownership groups in recent expansion, with five of six new franchises going to current NBA owners. The league has specifically mentioned incoming Celtics owner Bill Chisholm as their preferred choice for a Boston franchise.

Since expansion fees go directly to the league while sale prices go to current owners, the WNBA has financial incentives to favor expansion over relocation, especially when it can charge additional relocation fees. Sources close to the ownership group say the tribe feels the league is trying to dictate both the sale price and destination, rather than allowing market forces to work. This is particularly galling given the Mohegan Tribe's history as the first non-NBA owner in the WNBA and their decades of investment in the franchise before women's basketball became trendy.