The Houston Rockets are reportedly shooting for the Sun, with sources telling ESPN last week that the NBA team's ownership group has entered "substantive" talks with the Mohegan Tribe to buy and relocate the WNBA franchise from Connecticut.
Calling the discussions "positive," a source told ESPN that Houston apparently improved upon the $250 million bid put forth by the WNBA to purchase the Connecticut Sun back in August.
However, as neither party has signed a formal agreement, the Sun's longterm future remains uncertain.
The Mohegan Tribe began exploring the sale in 2024, with Houston emerging as a possible landing place after the WNBA reportedly blocked the Sun's $325 million sale to former Boston Celtics owner Steve Pagliuca — with the league preferring to find a buyer with past expansion team experience.
The Sun also fielded a bid from the State of Connecticut to keep the team in the area, though ESPN reported last week that those talks have slowed.
Notably, Houston boasts deep WNBA roots as one of the league's founding markets, with the Texas city serving as home to the four-time champion Comets from 1997 to 2008.
Of course, the league's current CBA negotiations are further complicating any transaction — especially after the WNBPA voted last Thursday to approve a potential strike.
Angel City co-founder Alexis Ohanian stirred the pot this week, divulging the circumstances behind the NWSL club's 2024 sale on Front Office Sports podcast "Portfolio Players" on Tuesday — and calling the original ownership model of the 2022 expansion team "a terrible idea."
Ohanian said he regretted relinquishing control to three of his co-founders — actor Natalie Portman, venture capitalist Kara Nortman, and current club CEO Julie Uhrman — claiming they invested "no money" themselves.
"I was [the] founding control owner in the eyes of the league, so it's my ass on the line," Ohanian continued, adding that last year's $250 million sale of Angel City directly stemmed from the celebrity-driven investment group's unsustainable startup-like ownership structure. "That works great in tech. In sports, it's a terrible idea."
Following a clash between Ohanian and his fellow ACFC owners on the team's operational and financial future, Disney CEO Bob Iger and USC dean Willow Bay stepped in to purchase the team, aligning board control with stakeholder interest.
"I think the best outcome here is, you got Bob and Willow, they have board control, and it's good," he said. "It's a rebuild."
Angel City did not immediately respond to Ohanian's interview, with Portman and Uhrman remaining on the club's board of directors while Nortman is a non-voting investor.
The Houston Dash are on the brink of a $120 million sale, with Sportico reporting on Wednesday that owner Ted Segal is in advanced talks on a deal that would sever the NWSL club's ties to their MLS counterpart, the Segal-owned Houston Dynamo.
Any agreement is likely to face extensive reviews, however, with questions arising about the funding sources of the buyer, RHC Group.
Namely, RHC Group founder Richard Hsiao is the 24-year-old US-born son of Chinese billionaire Jianhua Xiao, who's currently serving a 13-year prison sentence for what the Chinese government described as financial crimes.
According to Sportico sources, RHC's funds do not have ties to Hsiao's father, but instead originate from "the independent wealth of Hsiao's mother, Zhou Hongwen."
While the NWSL traces the proposed deal's funding, Hsiao is already going through the league's standard background check, a process he reportedly began months ago.
Characterizing the league's "due diligence process" as "ongoing," the NWSL said, "As with all such matters, the NWSL Board of Governors retains full authority to approve or deny any ownership change based on the league's governance standards."
Should the Dash sale go through, the prospective new owners reportedly intend to invest in club infrastructure while keeping the team in Houston.
Former San Diego Wave president Jill Ellis is back in the headlines, with the NWSL club's owners — private equity billionaire couple Lauren Leichtman and Arthur Levine — filing a lawsuit against Ellis on Monday for allegedly promising to stay on after the team's 2024 sale, only to resign days later in order to accept a new job as FIFA's Chief Football Officer.
According to the lawsuit, Ellis leveraged her longstanding friendship with Leichtman and Levine to convince them to purchase the San Diego Wave at a then-record price of $120 million, with the Levine Leichtman Family Office calling Ellis "a very attractive asset" that helped push the deal — and its nine-figure sticker price — across the line.
Though Ellis and other negotiators allegedly assured Leichtman and Levine that she would helm the NWSL club "for many years to come," Ellis resigned just two days after the sale closed, reportedly telling the new owners that she had "no intention of continuing any involvement with Wave FC."
Monday's court filing claims that Ellis and other unnamed defendants committed intentional misrepresentation, negligent misrepresentation, concealment, and false promise, and requests damages as Ellis's departure allegedly resulted in an estimated $40 million in lost revenue.
Ellis's attorney deemed the suit "meritless," calling it retaliation for the former USWNT manager's ongoing pursuit of $1.2 million in deferred payments reportedly guaranteed by her original contract with the San Diego Wave.
As for the team, the NWSL club is staying out of it, releasing a statement saying, "This is a legal matter between the Levine Leichtman Family Office and Jill Ellis. San Diego Wave FC is not a party to this lawsuit."
The sale saga of the Connecticut Sun added a new chapter this week, as the state of Connecticut submitted a bid proposal on Thursday that would see the WNBA team remain in-state.
Owned by the Mohegan Tribe since 2003, the state is just the latest entrant into an ongoing bidding war for the franchise, with Boston Celtics minority owner Steve Pagliuca, ex-Milwaukee Bucks owner Marc Lasry, and the WNBA itself all making offers ranging from $250 to $325 million in recent weeks.
Unlike previous relocation bids, the state's proposed sale plan sees the Connecticut Sun splitting home games between their current Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville and Hartford's larger PeoplesBank Arena, while also promising a new practice facility in the state capital.
Despite winding down 2025 in 12th place, the Sun have amassed a loyal local following, selling out their 10,000-capacity arena four times this year in a state buoyed by NCAA basketball powerhouse and current national champion UConn located less than an hour away.
"The best place for the Connecticut Sun is Connecticut because we have this very fierce fan base for women's basketball," Connecticut Lieutenant Governor Susan Bysiewicz told ESPN. "We love the [UConn] Huskies. We love watching the Sun… and we've seen that the Connecticut Sun players have been great community leaders and role models."
The Connecticut Sun is still on the chopping block, with reports surfacing Tuesday that the WNBA made a $250 million offer to buy the team in order to control its final landing place.
The Mohegan Tribe — the Sun's current owners — are reportedly still seeking clarity on the league's preferred relocation destination, after two prospective outside bids stalled in front of the Board of Governors.
Multiple offers remain on the table, including two $325 million bids from groups in Boston and nearby Hartford, Connecticut — as well as a plan to raise capital via minority investments rather than a full sale.
Recent reports point to the league's desire to control the Sun's fate while preserving certain markets for expansion, with the Mohegan Tribe under pressure to bend to the WNBA's interests.
The WNBA offer to buy the Connecticut Sun outright is reportedly part of a larger plan to flip the team to a different prospective ownership group without an additional relocation fee — and rumors say Houston is in the lead.
The Mohegan Tribe already turned down a low-ball bid out of Cleveland, with WNBA later awarding the Northeast Ohio city an expansion team for a $250 million fee.
NBA co-ownership was a clear priority during the league's most recent expansion, with officials now looking to force that strategy onto the Sun's future.
The roller-coaster sale of the Connecticut Sun has taken another turn, with Front Office Sports reporting Wednesday that three different buyers are currently in play to take over the WNBA team.
Alongside former Celtics owner Steve Pagliuca's previous $325 million bid to take the team to Boston, ex-Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry recently offered a matching bid to keep the squad closer to their Uncasville home with a move to nearby Hartford.
The NBA's Houston Rockets ownership has also entered the mix, with reports indicating that WNBA leadership would prefer the franchise relocate from New England to the Texas city.
Topping the sale price with an additional relocation fee could be the best way for a potential owner to separate themselves from the pack, as the relocation fee directly benefits the WNBA's front office.
Should the Rockets' ownership at least match the Boston and Hartford bids — plus ante up a relocation fee — a move to Houston could be a lock, particularly considering WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert dubbed the Texas hub as "up next" in the league's ongoing expansion process.
Ultimately, all signs point to the WNBA looking to align the sale of the Connecticut Sun with the league's overarching goals, leaving multiple fanbases — both existing and potential — stuck in limbo.
The future remains uncertain for the Connecticut Sun, with sale reports surfacing Friday that Celtics minority owner Steve Pagliuca struck a deal with the Mohegan Tribe to purchase and move the team to Boston — though the WNBA might have other plans.
The WNBA Board of Governors has not approved the Connecticut Sun sale, valued at a reported $325 million.
"Relocation decisions are made by the WNBA Board of Governors, and not by individual teams," the league said in a statement, asserting final say.
Along with hosting Sun games at the Celtics' TD Garden, Pagliuca's offer includes building a $110 million dedicated practice facility — big upgrades from the team's current 9,000-seat arena and communal training center.
Having owned and operated the Sun since the team relocated from Orlando in 2003, the Mohegan Tribe began exploring a potential sale in May, while also promising to keep the team at Mohegan Sun through the 2026 season.
Per the Globe, the WNBA has the power to force a sale to a Connecticut buyer, speculating that the league is instead eyeing Boston as a 2033 expansion city.
Hartford mayor Arunan Arulampalam weighed in this week, telling media that he's working with a local investment group to keep the Sun in-state.
"We have a long history of women's basketball fandom here," he said. "It makes so much sense for them to play right here in Hartford."
With both valuations and expansion interest soaring, one-off deals could cloud the WNBA's vision — but an ownership tug-of-war can also take its toll.
"I know there's still uncertainty about the future, but our loyal fans, they're excited to be able to watch this team grow," said Connecticut Sun president Jennifer Rizzotti. "And if it ends up being our last year here, we're going to make sure we blow it out."