A new hat has been thrown into the ring for the Connecticut Sun: the state themselves, who reportedly submitted an offer for a partial stake of the team this week. The move comes after months of a metaphorical tug-of-war, with Connecticut officials now sending a clear message to the WNBA: “Hands off our team.”
Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Connecticut Attorney General William Tong each sent certified letters to WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert earlier this week, imploring the league to stay out of any Sun negotiations.
“Proud of the Sun’s storied history of community involvement, this month, the State of Connecticut has stepped in to resolve the matter and proposed to acquire minority ownership in the team,” said Blumenthal. “I strongly urge the WNBA to refrain from any further actions that would interfere with the State’s efforts to keep the Sun where it belongs, in Connecticut.”
“Our state is the epicenter and heart of women’s basketball and a dominant force in the sport,” Tong wrote. “There would be no WNBA – and no worldwide growth in the popularity of women’s basketball – without the players, coaches, and dedicated fan base in and from Connecticut.”
The saga started in May, when current owners Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment, hired a firm to facilitate “exploring all options to strategically invest in the team.” — leading to two serious purchase offers; from former Boston Celtics co-owner Stephen Pagliuca and Connecticut-based investor Marc Lasry. Both groups bid over $325 million, a record-breaking price for a women’s sports franchise.
The WNBA wouldn’t accept either deal, saying that Boston was out of the running since it wasn’t involved in its expansion process – and that Hartford is “a waste of time” since they’d prefer to move the team to a city of their choice. How? By buying the team themselves for tens of millions less than the other proposals.
“I am troubled…that the WNBA may be wrongfully blocking a sale of the Connecticut Sun that would keep the team in Connecticut in a manner that may be anticompetitive and may violate state and federal law,” Tong said.
For league commissioner Engelbert, Houston — a city which had a failed WNBA team — is likely where she wants to move the Sun. The buyer would be Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta, who fell short during the last expansion round. Fertitta is also a longtime business partner of Donald Trump, serving as the president’s ambassador to Italy.
“The corporate arm of the WNBA wants to force the Mohegan Tribe to accept a low-ball offer from a Trump-backed billionaire,” State Sen. Chris Murphy wrote on social media. “It’s not right.”
The WNBA apparently would prefer all of its teams to be co-owned with NBA franchises — probably due to being effectively run under the NBA’s thumb. They may have forgotten that the tribe, and subsequent non-NBA owners, saved “The W” in its early era.
“The Mohegan Tribe is very committed to trying to keep the Sun here, and the State of Connecticut very much values the tribe as a key partner,” Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz said earlier this week. “They took a leap of faith…saying that Connecticut should have a women’s basketball team here, when not a lot of others thought that was a great idea.”
The state’s bid would not be an outright sale, but rather a partnership with the tribe to keep the team in-state for at least the next 10 years — splitting time between Uncasville and Hartford, according to the initial report by ESPN.
“Connecticut’s proposal would value the team at more than the WNBA’s offer and, with the proposal to build a new practice facility and play in Peoples Bank Arena, ensure that the Sun could easily grow further and achieve an even greater attendance,” Blumenthal said.
Partial ownership by many parties in sports franchises is nothing new, but a government being involved in such a scenario is much less common. Realistically, the state would probably finance the deal with bonds from many investors — maybe even Lasry’s group.
“We have a strong private investor with a great deal [of] experience in NBA investments,” Gov. Ned Lamont said without naming Lasry. “It depends on where the negotiations go, but we’re still in the game and it’s a good deal.”
“I would agree the perfect solution is not to have the state involved. The perfect solution is to sell it to an owner in Connecticut,” State House Speaker Matt Ritter said. “But if they need us to be partners with them, it would not be unusual — look across the country and see how these deals come together.”
However, just as with a full buyout, any minority sale of the Sun would have to be approved by the WNBA’s board of governors — who could open themselves up to legal action if they continue to refuse.
“Any further attempts by the WNBA… to limit or dictate negotiations with the State of Connecticut could be an unreasonable restraint of trade and interference that would violate federal antitrust laws,” said Blumenthal, who previously served as the State’s attorney general from 1991 to 2011.
“As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction over antitrust matters, I am closely monitoring the WNBA’s actions and will demand investigations and enforcement actions from the appropriate federal authorities if it takes any step to hinder or constrain Connecticut’s negotiations,” he wrote.
Sun fans overwhelmingly support keeping the team located in the Basketball Capital of the World, polls show. Basketball mania — even outside of March — has been a staple of Connecticut culture for years, especially for the women’s game.
“We have been a place that has loved women’s basketball, long before anybody was talking about multi-million-dollar deals,” Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam said, basketball in hand. “Look, half the WNBA cut their teeth on the hardwood [at the XL Center] playing either for or against the most-storied team in all of women’s basketball, the UConn Huskies.”
The mayor’s “hands off our team” mantra has also inspired a clandestine effort by fans to persuade the league to stop in their tracks. The campaign webpage, handsoffourteam.com, offers links to dial the WNBA’s customer service phone number, (855) 438-0683, and tweet at Engelbert – plus a petition form directed at the league’s board of governors and the Mohegan Tribe. It has over a thousand signatures and counting.
“Our dedicated and enthusiastic fanbase in Connecticut has strongly supported the Connecticut Sun and the WNBA for over twenty years; to lose this franchise would be devastating to our economy, our community and our state,” Tong said. “Please understand Connecticut will fight hard for our players, coaches and fans, and we will take all steps necessary to keep the team in Connecticut where it belongs.”
The Connecticut sports world losing the NHL’s Hartford Whalers in 1997 — plus a fumble over the NFL’s New England Patriots soon after — still stings. It would be generally confusing for a professional basketball league to just forget about the region that invented the sport and made the women’s game what it is today.
“I totally understand why [fans] might be worried [about a team move],” Engelbert said in July following the Sun vs. Fever game in Boston. “But again, that’s up to the Mohegan Tribe to make a decision. I mean, I think they would like to keep the team in Connecticut and find someone who would play at Mohegan Sun… We’re letting them run their process.”
Reports suggest that Engelbert intentionally kept the Sun deals hidden from the league’s board of governors; if Tong’s investigation finds any legal wrongdoing by her or other WNBA officials, her job and reputation may be at risk. While details behind closed doors may not yet be known, the Mohegan Tribe said the league “became antagonistic toward the sale” when it didn’t accept an earlier low offer. Are they truly “letting [the tribe] run their process?”
“I’m just trying to keep the Sun in Connecticut,” Gov. Lamont said.
The state appears to be confident in their ability to keep the Sun from setting — but now it’s about making the shot when it counts. What we know as of now is that the Mohegan Tribe still owns the team, and they’ve committed to playing in Connecticut through the 2026 season.
The Sun finished the 2025 WNBA season 11-23, ranked 11 overall.
For more information about the Connecticut Sun and the WNBA, visit sun.wnba.com. For the Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment corporation, visit mohegangaming.com.
To learn more about the “hands off our team” campaign, and to sign the fan petition, visit handsoffourteam.com.