The Connecticut Suns are going through a tumultuous phase at the moment. While the players will be looking to better their performance in the upcoming season, the franchise itself is staring down a major shakeup. According to reports, the Sun accepted a deal of $325 million from Steve Pagliuca. However, the Sun ownership has explored alternate sale paths after the league’s pushback. And owing to all the back and forth, Richard Blumenthal has issued a warning to the WNBA.
Well, the current ownership of the team lies with the Mohegan tribe at the moment. While they took hold of the team back in 2003, the ownership has now expressed their will to sell the franchise. And despite getting an immediate and lucrative offer from Pagliuca, the league’s interference is causing a lot of difficulties.
Richard Blumenthal Is Unhappy With How WNBA Is Handling Connecticut Sun Situation
While the likes of Carolyn Peck have praised the WNBA’s growth with the Sun’s $325 deal, things are not looking well for Pagliuca. This is because the league itself is pushing back and trying to negotiate with the deal. And such a stance from the WNBA did not sit well with the US Senator, Blumenthal. Speaking on the topic, he warned the WNBA that if they continue to try to hinder the processing of the deal, they could face federal antitrust law violation charges.
“Any further attempts by the WNBA to use its considerable governance and market power over the Connecticut Sun to limit or dictate negotiations with the state of Connecticut could be a unreasonable restraint of trade and interference with the market that would violate federal antitrust laws,” Blumenthal wrote.
The WNBA is blocking a record $325M sale of the Connecticut Sun. Why? Because they don’t want “regular” billionaires, only NBA billionaires.
— Quita Loves Sports (@quitalovesports) August 20, 2025
Independent owners like the Mohegan Tribe helped to save this league when NBA teams bailed. Now the league is blocking their $325M sale of… pic.twitter.com/J3o1zcQSD5
Now then, the Suns have received a couple of lucrative offers. The first one has come from the Celtics’ ownership group, who are planning to relocate the team to Boston. However, a second deal proposes to move the franchise Harford while keeping the team in Connecticut. Unfortunately, both bids have been turned down by the WNBA. Thus, the Sun’s ownership has accused the league of ‘trying to steal’ the franchise.
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Connecticut Sun Ownership Accuses WNBA Of Blocking Steve Pagliuca’s Deal
With the Sun sale taking over the hoops realm, fingers have been pointed at the Commissioner, Cathy Engelbert. While her approval would have ensured smooth sailing, she did let the deadline expire. One of the main reasons for the WNBA’s decision to block the deal was the chosen location. While Boston did not bid for an expansion team, the league does not want the Sun to be relocated. And such a stance made the Sun CEO, Sean Scanlon, pretty agitated.
“The WNBA and powerful corporate outside interests are blocking this deal. [They] are trying to steal the team from Connecticut against the will of the owners of the team, against the fan base of Connecticut,” Scanlon said.
He also pleaded with the NBA and the WNBA not to take away the team. Thus, with the situation getting out of hand, fans are now eager to see how things pan out in the future. And what exactly is in store for the Sun franchise in the upcoming days?