Ex-Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to buy Clippers for $2B, ESPN reports

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Former Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer is set to buy the Los Angeles Clippers for $2 billion, according to ESPN.

The signed, binding agreement between the Sterling family trust and Ballmer will go straight to the NBA for final approval, sources told ESPN Thursday evening. The agreement does not require additional approval from Donald Sterling, according to the sources.

ESPN has learned that Sterling was declared mentally incapacitated by experts, leaving his wife, Shelly Sterling, as the sole trustee of the family's trust and giving her the power to sell the team without his approval.

The ESPN sources said Ballmer's bid beat out offers from groups led by David Geffen ($1.6 billion) and Los Angeles investors Tony Ressler and Steve Karsh ($1.2 billion).

The negotiations come a few days ahead of a planned June 3 meeting by NBA owners to vote on whether to force Donald Sterling to sell the team.

Sterling was banned for life from the NBA and fined $2.5 million by Commissioner Adam Silver following the release of his racist rant that was recorded by his friend, V. Stiviano. In the audio recording, Sterling urged Stiviano not to bring black people to Clippers games or to post photos of herself with black friends on her Instagram account.

Sterling called the NBA's efforts to force a sale illegal and claimed that the comments made during a private conversation can't be used against him. He signed over ownership of the team to his wife and authorized her to negotiate the sale of the team.

Ballmer released a statement, saying he is grateful to Shelly Sterling and the NBA for working with him throughout the process.

"I will be honored to have my name submitted to the NBA Board of Governors for approval as the next owner of the Los Angeles Clippers," Ballmer said. "I love basketball. And I intend to do everything in my power to ensure that the Clippers continue to win - and win big - in Los Angeles. LA is one of the world's great cities - a city that embraces inclusiveness, in exactly the same way that the NBA and I embrace inclusiveness. I am confident that the Clippers will in the coming years become an even bigger part of the community."

Ballmer, 58, was chief executive officer of Microsoft for 14 years and is reportedly worth $20 billion. The $2 billion price tag would be the second-most ever for a North American professional sports franchise, coming in after the $2.1 billion sale of the L.A. Dodgers in 2012.

ESPN contributed to this report.