Steve Ballmer has agreed to purchase the LA Clippers for $2 billion

Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has agreed to purchase the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers for $2 billion. Ballmer and Clippers co-owner Shelly Sterling reportedly settled on the deal late Thursday afternoon although Bobby Samini, an attorney for Donald Sterling, pointed out that there can be no sale without Donald’s signature. If successful, the deal would be the highest ever paid for an NBA franchise and the second highest ever for a sports franchise in North America. The previous high was $550 million paid for the Milwaukee Bucks earlier this month. The all-time high for a sports team is $2.1 billion for the Dodgers in 2012.

Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has signed a binding agreement to buy the Los Angeles Clippers for $2 billion from the Sterling family trust, a source familiar with the situation told CNN on Thursday night. A second source, who was familiar with the negotiations, confirmed the terms to CNN. The sale, negotiated by Shelly Sterling — co-owner with estranged husband Donald Sterling — will have to be approved at a NBA Board of Governors meeting. It was unclear whether a meeting set for Tuesday will go on, given Thursday’s developments. And the sale still may have to be approved by Donald Sterling, according to earlier comments by his attorney. Maxwell Blecher told CNN earlier that his client would have to consent to a sale and wants to be vindicated by the NBA, which is in the process of terminating the Sterlings’ ownership in the team for racist remarks Sterling made in an audio recording released online in April.