Nike Founder, Dodgers Partial Owner Bid $2B For Trail Blazers: Reports

PORTLAND, OR — The founder of Nike and the partial owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, have submitted a bid to buy the Portland Trail Blazers, multiple media outlets reported, citing anonymous sources with knowledge of the offer.

Nike founder Phil Knight and Dodgers partial owner and entrepreneur Alan Smolinisky submitted a bid for more than $2 billion, The New York Times and ESPN reported.

ESPN's NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski tweeted that Knight's inclusion in the proposed ownership group indicates the group's plan to keep the Blazers in Portland, though he noted talks were ongoing about the team's future.

The trust for Paul Allen, who died in 2018, has overseen certain aspects of the team since his death. A source familiar with the details of Allen's trust previously told John Canzano the trust must be liquidated upon his death. The assets — which includes the Trail Blazers and the Seattle Seahawks — are to be used to pay for projects he was passionate about.

"None of this is up in the air. The instructions are clear: The sports franchises and everything in the trust must be sold," the source said.