San Francisco (Obama.net)- Up until 1994, not only did the National Football League have a presence in Los Angeles, but it did in the form of two franchises. But since the Los Angeles Rams relocated to St. Louis and the Los Angeles Raiders returned to Oakland, the City of Angels has been sans NFL franchise.
Enter Magic Johnson.
The former Los Angeles Laker has made moves in recent days in an effort to bring an NFL team back to Los Angeles for the first time in 16 years.
Johnson sold his minor ownership role in the Lakers NBA franchise to Patrick Soon-Shiong. Johnson’s share of the team was only 4.5%, but the small share was valued at approximately twenty-seven million dollars. Soon-Shiong seemed like an appropriate buyer since he is a Lakers fan and season ticket holder.
The NBA Hall of Famer then made another sale. He sold all 105 of his Starbucks franchises back to the corporation.
Combined with his sale of the Lakers, Magic Johnson essentially brought in a projected $100 million in a few days.
While some suspected that Johnson would use the money to buy an even larger sharer of a smaller NBA Franchise in order to be a majority owner, the three-time NBA Most Valuable Player shot those reports down.
So with the twelve-time NBA All-Star not looking into buying the Detroit Pistons nor the Golden States Warriors of the NBA or the Los Angeles Dodgers of the MLB, and with him being fine with his current assortment of restaurants, real estate properties, and health clubs, the former superstar is looking to make his mark on the NFL.
While nothing official has come from the NFL and no talks have been reported as of yet, Johnson has publically stated that bringing an NFL franchise to the city of Los Angeles is his ultimate goal.
Johnson still plans on playing a vital role within the Los Angeles Lakers organization. The former Laker bought a luxury suite in the same arena that Lakers play, the Staples Center, so that he can be present at every home game and continue to work with the organization as he has been for years.
If things go as planned, it could be a matter of months or even weeks until we get finalizing news that Magic Johnson will be joining the likes of other famous athletes such as Michael Jordan as owners of professional teams in the United States.
hey Magic. how are you ?
I think what you are doinq is really great!