Sun confirm agreement to sell team and move it to Houston

The Mohegan Tribe confirmed Monday the sale of the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun to the Tilman Fertitta family, owners of the NBA’s Houston Rockets, with a news release.

No sale price was announced but multiple reports, including reports from ESPN and the Associated Press earlier this month, said that the team was being sold for $300 million, the highest price for a WNBA team.

The final season for the Sun in Connecticut will begin in May. The team will move to Houston in 2027 and be renamed the Comets, in honor of the charter WNBA franchise that won four WNBA titles before folding in 2008.

The tribe purchased the team, formerly known as the Orlando Miracle, for $10 million and moved them to Connecticut in 2003. They were the first independent owner of a WNBA team and the first Native American tribe to own a professional sports team.

“The Connecticut Sun organization understands how emotional this moment is for our fans and community,” said Jennifer Rizzotti, president of the Connecticut Sun. “You have made a home for this franchise for generations, and we are grateful for the passion and support that made us a cornerstone team in the WNBA.

“While the league continues to grow and evolve, our commitment is to honor this legacy —and finishing this final season together with pride,” she said.

It’s been a successful journey for the Sun in Connecticut. They won two Eastern Conference championships, qualified for the playoffs 17 times and played in the WNBA finals four times.

The team hosted the WNBA All-Star Game four times at the Mohegan Sun Arena (2005, 2009, 2013, 2015).

“Mohegan owes an enormous amount of gratitude first and foremost to our extraordinary fans cheering on the team for 23 incredible seasons,” said Joe Soper, Corresponding Secretary for the Mohegan Tribal Council. “This team — and what the talented women who have worn this uniform over the years have meant to Mohegan Sun, our region and the impact they’ve made both on and off the court, has been nothing short of remarkable.

The Sun did say that the deal is pending approval for the WNBA’s Board of Governors.

According to published reports, the league rejected two previous offers of $325 million for the Sun last year.

A group led by Boston Celtics minority owner Steve Pagliuca would have moved the team to Boston but the league responded by saying that “relocation decisions are made by the WNBA Board of Governors and not by individual teams.”

A second offer of $325 million from former Milwaukee Bucks owner Marc Lasry, who grew up in West Hartford, to move the team to Hartford was also rejected by the WNBA.

The WNBA wasn’t thrilled with that proposal, either, saying that neither Boston nor Hartford had participated in the recent expansion process. The WNBA said in a statement that they would be prioritizing cities that had participated in their recent expansion process.

Why would a group in Hartford look for a WNBA expansion franchise with the Sun less than 40 minutes away in Uncasville?

Houston was one of the cities interested in a WNBA franchise but missed out.

In June 2025, the WNBA announced that three new expansion franchises in Cleveland (2028), Detroit (2029) and Philadelphia (2030) each paid $250 million to join the league.

“We need to be really clear about this. There was never a chance of keeping the Connecticut Sun because the NBA rigged this process from day one so that the league and its billionaire owners could make more money,” State Comptroller Sean Scanlon said in a social media post. “That’s all this was ever about for them, and you shouldn’t forget it as a fan.”

Ironically, the Sun have plans to play two games in Hartford this year and play a single game in Boston for the third straight year.

In their news release, the Sun took the high road about their final season in Connecticut.

“This is a moment of transition, reflection and anticipation of future gains for the team,” the team said. “The Connecticut Sun contributed in so many ways to the growth of the WNBA and women’s basketball, and that impact and legacy are permanent.”