Rockets’ sale highest in NBA history, reports say

The Houston Rockets will be sold for $2.2 billion (U.S.), the highest price ever paid for an NBA team, said a person with knowledge of the deal. The team and the buyer, Tilman Fertitta, announced the sale Tuesday, but did not disclose the price.

Fertitta owns Landry’s, which includes more than 500 restaurants as well as casinos and hotels. He is also the host of a reality show, Billion Dollar Buyer, in which he travels around the country visiting small businesses and considers buying them.

The man who will be getting the big cheque is Leslie Alexander, who bought the team in 1993 for $85 million.

The deal, which also includes the operation of the Toyota Center, requires the approval of the NBA’s board of governors.

In a statement announcing the sale, the Rockets alluded to the recent devastation in Houston caused by hurricane Harvey, saying, “It is truly unfortunate that this announcement is occurring amidst the aftermath of one of the biggest tragedies in the history of our great city.”

Fertitta is a native of nearby Galveston, Texas.

The big price came in part because the Rockets are a stable and successful franchise, which won 55 games last season, led by a superstar, James Harden. It is also based in the country’s fourth-largest city.

But the value of every NBA team is rising thanks to the explosion of television money. The league has a nineyear, $24-billion deal with ESPN and Turner Sports. The deal nearly tripled the annual revenue from the previous deal.

The previous record for an NBA team was the $2-billion sale of the Los Angeles Clippers to Steve Ballmer in 2014.

The Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball were sold for $2 billion in 2012.