Michael Jordan decided to sell his controlling majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets because he received an extraordinary valuation offer of approximately three billion dollars from an incoming investment group led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall, presenting a massive financial return on his original investment. After thirteen years of managing the franchise as principal owner through various challenging rebuilding cycles and struggling win-loss records, Jordan felt it was an appropriate time to step back from day-to-day front-office governance while retaining a small minority ownership share in the organization.