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The NBA is one step closer to getting rid of disgraced L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling.

Yesterday, former Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer won a bidding war for ownership of the Los Angeles Clippers. What was the asking price? A record breaking $2 billion dollars.

How big is that number? To put it in comparison, the previous highest price paid for an NBA franchise occurred earlier this month, when Herb Kohl paid $550 million for the Milwaukee Bucks. That $2 billion number is also the second highest price ever paid for a sports franchise in North America. Number one is still the $2.1 billion Magic Johnson and the Guggenheim Partners paid for the L.A. Dodgers in 2012.

That $2 billion number beats out bids from the Geffen group ($1.6 billion) and Ressler-Karsh, who bid $1.2 billion. (We’re not sure what Rick Ross or Puffy Daddy ended up bidding.)

The sale is obviously not final yet. It needs approval from three-fourths of the 30 NBA owners, but that seems more like a formality as long as Ballmer, who is reported to be worth $20 billion, doesn’t move the team to his Seattle hometown.

Last week, almost ex-Clippers owner Donald Sterling allowed his wife, Shelly Sterling, to sell the team after receiving a lifetime ban from NBA commissioner Adam Silver. This came after secret recordings of Donald Sterling saying racist things about black people were released.

SOURCE: LA Times | PHOTO CREDIT: Getty

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