Ex-Bucks Star’s Buy Of Ownership Share Values NBA Team At $4B

Ulysses "Junior" Bridgeman

Former Milwaukee Bucks star Ulysses "Junior" Bridgeman, owner of Ebony and Jet magazines, is buying a 10% share of the Bucks in a transaction that will value the NBA team at $4 billion, Outlaw360 has confirmed. 

It is the second time in 17 months that Bucks ownership has added partners and increased their valuation, following the purchase of approximately 25% of the team in April 2023 by current Cleveland Browns majority owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam.

The NBA was to be notified Thursday of the sale of the Bucks’ minority share to Bridgeman, and the league’s board of governors is expected to vote on the deal Monday, according to a source familiar with the deal. The move was first reported Thursday by CNBC.

Bridgeman played for the Bucks from 1975-84 and 1986-87, 10 of his 12 NBA seasons. He is one of nine players to have his number retired by the team. He built his wealth largely as a restaurant chain franchiser and beverage distributor. His company, 1145 Holdings LLC, purchased Ebony and Jet magazines, the centerpieces of the historic Black publishing company founded by the late John H. Johnson, out of bankruptcy in 2020. In July, an ESPN report estimated his net worth at $600 million.

The purchase of co-majority owner Marc Lasry’s shares last year by the Haslams valued the Bucks at approximately $3.2 billion. The other co-majority owners are Wesley Edens, who bought the team with Lasry from the late Herbert Kohl in 2014, and Jamie Dinan. 

The deal with Bridgeman is also the first major team transaction in the NBA since the league signed a $76.7 billion media rights deal in July, to begin in 2025. Since late 2022, largely in anticipation of a sharp increase in media rights, new majority owners have taken over the Phoenix Suns, Charlotte Hornets and Dallas Mavericks. 

The sale of the Minnesota Timberwolves for $1.5 billion, agreed to in 2021, is on hold as their previous owner and the group that agreed to buy them have submitted to arbitration over the terms. The Boston Celtics announced they were up for sale in July, days after the team won the 2024 championship.

Through a spokesperson, Bridgeman declined to comment on the report Thursday. Representatives for the Bucks also declined to comment.

—Editing by Marygrace Anderson and Kelly Duncan.