Millers sell Jazz to Ryan Smith (Qualtrics)

[stitches]

I mean, I'm right about the trust. There's no stopping him from selling later on if he wants to. Just depends on what he wants. He owns the decision making ability.

I fully believe that he plans to own the Jazz for a long time and keep it here, but the Millers likely never intended to sell either. Things change, money talks.

I’d be willing to bet their dealerships that make the most money IE ones that sell trucks took a huge hit because of the bubble.

For sure. Which is why I don't think the Millers ever intended to sell, they just got hit with Covid. Ryan Smith probably wants to keep the team in Utah and never intends to sell, but the Millers never intended to sell either. Things happen, and Ryan Smith can make a billion at any time by selling to tech.

To me this looks like the worst time to sell the team. Like... the value of the team is probably at its lowest now in recent years. I guess the pressure from COVID-19 moved things along and gave the push for the deal.

[KqWIN]

I’d be willing to bet their dealerships that make the most money IE ones that sell trucks took a huge hit because of the bubble.

For sure. Which is why I don't think the Millers ever intended to sell, they just got hit with Covid. Ryan Smith probably wants to keep the team in Utah and never intends to sell, but the Millers never intended to sell either. Things happen, and Ryan Smith can make a billion at any time by selling to tech.

To me this looks like the worst time to sell the team. Like... the value of the team is probably at its lowest now in recent years. I guess the pressure from COVID-19 moved things along and gave the push for the deal.

Yeah, they definitely didn't sell because they wanted to. Really looks like a sell out of necessity.

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[SoCalJazzFan]

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[SoCalJazzFan]

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[Inigo Montoya]

I have to give it to the Millers and the Jazz, they certainly know how to keep a secret and play things close to the chest.

I don't know anything about this Ryan Smith guy, and I have no idea what it means for the Jazz staying in Utah. My impression is that the Millers were hit hard by COVID and were forced to sell, they have a lot of businesses that rely on people and crowds, like movie theaters, for example, and it just looks to me like their businesses took a hit because of the virus.

I really don't know anything about the guy, what his management style is, and how many changes we'll see. I wonder if he's going to keep the front office\DLZ or if he'll want to bring in his own people. I also wonder if he'll be more aggressive and less conservative in his management approach as it relates to the Jazz.

[stitches]

For sure. Which is why I don't think the Millers ever intended to sell, they just got hit with Covid. Ryan Smith probably wants to keep the team in Utah and never intends to sell, but the Millers never intended to sell either. Things happen, and Ryan Smith can make a billion at any time by selling to tech.

To me this looks like the worst time to sell the team. Like... the value of the team is probably at its lowest now in recent years. I guess the pressure from COVID-19 moved things along and gave the push for the deal.

Yeah, they definitely didn't sell because they wanted to. Really looks like a sell out of necessity.

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For whatever it's worth it seems like Ryan Smith is a local guy with deep ties to the state and he won't be moving the team if it was ever up to him. I think Utah is safe for the Jazz for the time being. What others have pointed out though is true - it's always one financial hardship and sale away from things changing. I guess this current sale told us that there is no 100% certainty in this business... This completely blindsighted me. I never even imagined the team could be sold. Not even a kernel of a thought in my mind... and today... this.

Oh well.. I guess Utahns are lucky there was a local businessman willing to buy and the Millers didn't have to go outside of market to sell the team.

[KqWIN]

To me this looks like the worst time to sell the team. Like... the value of the team is probably at its lowest now in recent years. I guess the pressure from COVID-19 moved things along and gave the push for the deal.

Yeah, they definitely didn't sell because they wanted to. Really looks like a sell out of necessity.

Read on Twitter

For whatever it's worth it seems like Ryan Smith is a local guy with deep ties to the state and he won't be moving the team if it was ever up to him. I think Utah is safe for the Jazz for the time being. What others have pointed out though is true - it's always one financial hardship and sale away from things changing. I guess this current sale told us that there is no 100% certainty in this business... This completely blindsighted me. I never even imagined the team could be sold. Not even a kernel of a thought in my mind... and today... this.

Oh well.. I guess Utahns are lucky there was a local businessman willing to buy and the Millers didn't have to go outside of market to sell the team.

Yeah, I think the Millers selling shows how quickly things can change. One day, they seem like the most firm owners in the league. The next day they sold the team. When there are billions of dollars on the line drastic things can happen.

I suppose we are lucky that there was a local businessman, and one who already has good rapport with players, ready to step in. The Millers look like they had to sell no matter what, what if he wasn't there? It's a scary thought.

[Inigo Montoya]

The Jazz were sold for $1.6 billion plus according to Woj.

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[stitches]

I have to give it to the Millers and the Jazz, they certainly know how to keep a secret and play things close to the chest.

I don't know anything about this Ryan Smith guy, and I have no idea what it means for the Jazz staying in Utah. My impression is that the Millers were hit hard by COVID and were forced to sell, they have a lot of businesses that rely on people and crowds, like movie theaters, for example, and it just looks to me like their businesses took a hit because of the virus.

I really don't know anything about the guy, what his management style is, and how many changes we'll see. I wonder if he's going to keep the front office\DLZ or if he'll want to bring in his own people. I also wonder if he'll be more aggressive and less conservative in his management approach as it relates to the Jazz.

Seems like he's a software enterpreneur who sold his company for 8B. He is BYU graduate and is living in Utah full time. He's been sponsoring the "5 for the fight" badge on the Jazz jerseys the last several years. From what I gather he's been a life long Jazz fan and has been a feature at Jazz games in recent years holding court-side tickets. Take for whatever it's worth and keep in mind that I don't know anything more on him than most here and I'm learning as I'm going too... but... if I had to guess the chance of him wanting the Jazz to leave the market is extremely small. Another thing I read was that he offered to buy the RSL when they had their racist scandal. So again - seems to target all the sports teams in the market so I doubt he's doing it in order to move them.

[Inigo Montoya]

The Millers look like they had to sell no matter what, what if he wasn't there? It's a scary thought.

I'm sure the family of billionaires would have been just fine. In other news, I'm still struggling to pay for my car.

[Inigo Montoya]

Some more basic info about Smith:

Ryan Smith is the CEO and cofounder of Utah-based cloud computing company Qualtrics.
He cofounded the company in Provo, Utah in 2002 with his brother, Jared, and father Scott.
Three days before its scheduled IPO in January 2019, Qualtrics was acquired by German software firm SAP for $8 billion in cash.
Smith still runs Qualtrics as an independent unit inside SAP.

https://www.forbes.com/profile/ryan-smith/#5db725a45f04

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Yeah, I think the Millers selling shows how quickly things can change. One day, they seem like the most firm owners in the league. The next day they sold the team. When there are billions of dollars on the line drastic things can happen.

I suppose we are lucky that there was a local businessman, and one who already has good rapport with players, ready to step in. The Millers look like they had to sell no matter what, what if he wasn't there? It's a scary thought.

Yeah, He's already engender a ton of good will with the way he handled himself with the sponsorship deal they did with the jerseys, where they put a charity logo on the jersey instead of his company name.

[Inigo Montoya]

An ESPN article about Smith by Woj

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/30210088/utah-jazz-sold-ryan-smith-ending-millers-three-decade-run-majority-owners

Some quotes:

"I grew up watching the Jazz. This is the team I cheered for. I played Junior Jazz. I dreamed of playing for the Jazz, and that didn't work out. But as I was sitting there this week in the Junior Jazz program you guys started, with hundreds of kids running around, the legacy you've created is untouchable. We're all incredibly grateful for that. The Jazz are a gift to this whole community, and that's how we view it. That's 100 percent how we view this."

Gail Miller, 77, put the team into a legacy trust in 2017 but said the goal of that trust -- keeping the franchise in Utah for the long term -- had been accomplished by the sale to Smith.

"Now there's been a lot of attention given in recent years to my putting the team in a legacy trust," Miller said. "This was done in connection with my estate plan, with the objective of assuring our loyal fans that the team would remain in Utah. I am fully convinced that with this sale, the objectives of that trust will still be honored, and I want you to know the new owners have made the same commitment to keep the team in Utah."

[SoCalJazzFan]

The Millers bought the Jazz in 1985 for $22M! That is a 66X increase in value. A little concerned that they sold the Jazz, but there probably couldn't be a better buyer to keep the Jazz in Utah.

[KqWIN]

The Millers look like they had to sell no matter what, what if he wasn't there? It's a scary thought.

I'm sure the family of billionaires would have been just fine. In other news, I'm still struggling to pay for my car.

Oh, I meant that it was a scary thought because the Jazz would be leaving Utah. I don't have any concern about the Miller's finances

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So now that the shock has worn off... do you think Smith(damn, it's kind of awkward typing that name as a Jazz owner) will want to make a splash as a new owner? Do you think the "new owner syndrome" is a real thing?

[AingesBurner]

So now that the shock has worn off... do you think Smith(damn, it's kind of awkward typing that name as a Jazz owner) will want to make a splash as a new owner? Do you think the "new owner syndrome" is a real thing?

He has to put his mark on the team.

[Lava Rock Kid]

This is great news. Finally an owner with some deeper pockets and hopefully one that will hold management accountable to some the incompetence that we have seen.

Sent from my SM-G988U using RealGM mobile app

Does he have deeper pockets?

[Lava Rock Kid]

New owners tend to spend like crazy to win now. See mark cuban. It would be nice.

[Hikari]

The current players have a good relationship with him. They were tagging him to buy RSL when all that crap was going down.