Situated in Salt Lake City, the Utah Jazz compete in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association. Founded in 1974, the franchise is still in the hunt for their first NBA championship.
In their early years, the Jazz were an average team who lacked a star player besides the great Pete Maravich. However, after the arrival of Coach Frank Layden in 1981, the Jazz became a competitive team. Layden was then replaced by Jerry Sloan in 1988, who picked up right where Layden left off. Under Sloan's leadership, the Jazz clinched the Division title seven times and reached consecutive NBA Finals in 1996 and 1997.
Currently led by young head coach Will Hardy, the Jazz are currently looking to build around star players Lauri Markkanen, Jordan Clarkson and John Collins.
Utah Jazz Majority Ownership
Ryan Smith is the majority owner of the Utah Jazz. Smith, who is the co-founder of Qualtrics, purchased majority stake in the Jazz for around $1.66 billion from previous owner Gail Miller. Smith became the team owner after the NBA approved the sale on December 18, 2020.
Gail Miller assumed ownership of Utah Jazz in 2009 after the passing of her husband Larry Miller. Miller was the owner of the Larry H. Miller group who initially purchased the team for $22 million in 1985. Gail Miller continues to hold a minority stake in Jazz.
What is Ryan Smith’s Net Worth?
According to online sources, Ryan Smith’s net worth is estimated at around $1.6 billion as of 2023. Smith is the CEO and co-founder of an online survey software company known as Qualtrics. In his early 20s, Smith studied business as an undergraduate at Brigham Young University and decided to start Qualtrics with his dad Scott Smith and brother Jared. A few years ago, he sold his company to German software giant SAP for a whopping $8 billion.
Growing up, Smith was a huge fan of the Jazz and loved watching Jazz games with his family, especially with his grandfather who got him into appreciating basketball.
FAQs
A. Ryan Smith was born in Eugene, Oregon.
A. Born on June 28, 1978, Smith is 45 years old.
A. Ryan Smith became majority owner of the Utah Jazz in December 2020.
A. Smith resides in Provo, Utah which is located about 44.6 miles or 71.8 km south of Salt Lake City.
A. According to Statista, the Utah Jazz are valued at around $3 billion as of 2023.
