Connecticut Sun Reportedly Sell For Record $300M After WNBA Blocked Higher Bids
The Fertitta family has reached a deal to buy the Connecticut Sun and relocate the franchise to Houston.
The WNBA is getting exactly what it wanted.
After months of controversy — including political pressure, antitrust threats and an attorney general probe — the Connecticut Sun is being sold to the Fertitta family and will relocate to Houston.
According to multiple reports, the Fertittas — who own the Houston Rockets — are purchasing the franchise for $300 million. That's a record price for a WNBA team.
Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta watches the pregame introductions with his family before Game 7 of the NBA Western Conference Finals at Toyota Center on Monday, May 28, 2018, in Houston.
(Photo by Brett Comer/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
Houston, notably, was always the league's preferred destination.
At the time of the WNBA's most recent expansion announcement last June, commissioner Cathy Engelbert made clear that "Houston would be up next, for sure."
Turns out, she was very serious about that one.
The Deal The WNBA Didn't Want
What makes this outcome notable is how we got here.
As OutKick previously reported, the Mohegan Tribe — which has owned the Sun since 2003 — had multiple offers on the table worth significantly more than what the league was willing to accept.
Two separate ownership groups, led by former NBA owners Steve Pagliuca and Marc Lasry, each offered $325 million for the franchise. Those deals would have relocated the team to Boston and Hartford, respectively.
Shortly after these offers were made to the Mohegan Tibe, the league issued a pointed statement making clear that "relocation decisions are made by the WNBA Board of Governors and not by individual teams."
(Photo by Joseph Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The league also took a thinly veiled jab at Boston, saying that while nine other cities were under consideration during the league's most recent expansion process, "no groups from Boston applied for a team at that time," and those other cities "currently have priority."
MORE: Connecticut Senators Slam WNBA For Blocking Sun Sale, Cite Antitrust Laws
The league had Houston in its sights. And eventually got there.
The Fertitta deal ultimately lands at $300 million ($25 million less than what both Pagliuca and Lasry were offering) and notably comes without a relocation fee.
So the league meddled, and the league got its way. Even if it meant the Mohegan Tribe had to settle for less.
The Houston Comets Are Back
The team is expected to remain in Connecticut for the 2026 season before making the move to Houston ahead of the 2027 campaign.
Once there, the franchise will likely take on the Comets name — reviving one of the WNBA's original teams.
The Houston Comets were a powerhouse in the league's early years, winning four straight championships from 1997 through 2000 behind stars like Sheryl Swoopes, Cynthia Cooper and Tina Thompson before folding in 2008.
The Houston Comets celebrate after beating the New York Liberty 59-47 to win their third straight WNBA Championship on Sept. 5, 1999 in Houston.
(Photo by Smiley N. Pool/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
Details are still being finalized, but the team is expected to play its home games at the Toyota Center alongside the Rockets.