Michael Jordan agreed on Friday to sell his majority stake in the Hornets at a $3 billion valuation, ending his 13-year run as the team's owner, Axios' Jeff Tracy writes.

Why it matters: That's the seventh-most expensive sale price ever for a sports franchise. Six of the seven richest sales have come in the past 13 months.

Details: Jordan, who will keep a minority stake in the team once the deal is finalized, sold to a group led by Hornets minority owner Gabe Plotkin and Hawks minority owner Rick Schnall. With Jordan out, the NBA will have zero Black majority owners.

By the numbers: Jordan is widely considered the best player in NBA history, yet his lifetime NBA salary ($93.9 million) pales in comparison to what he's made elsewhere, bringing in roughly $4 billion between his Nike earnings and the Hornets sale. Then there's the on-court discrepancy:

• In 15 years as a player, Jordan won six rings and played in 179 playoff games.
• In 13 years as an owner, Jordan's Hornets had four winning seasons and played in just 15 playoff games (three first-round series losses)

The big picture: Despite that run of sub-mediocrity, Jordan's return on investment is roughly 10x his original purchase ($275M), further proof that sports ownership is just about the best investment there is.

Snapshot: The 10 most expensive sales in history, ordered by rate of return…

• 🏈 Broncos: Bought for $78M in 1984, sold for $4.65B in 2022 (59.6x return)
• ⚾️ Mets: Bought for $81M in 1986, sold for $2.42B in 2020 (29.9x)
• 🏀 Rockets: Bought for $85M in 1993, sold for $2.2B in 2017 (25.9x)
• ⚽️ Chelsea: Bought for $233M in 2003, sold for $3.16B in 2022 (13.6x)
• 🏈 Panthers: Bought for $206M in 1993, sold for $2.28B in 2018 (11.1x)
• 🏀 Hornets: Bought for $275M in 2010, sold for $3B in 2023 (10.9x)
• 🏀 Suns: Bought for $401M in 2004, sold for $4B in 2023 (10x)
• 🏀 Nets: Bought for $393M in 2010, sold for $3.3B in 2019 (8.4x)
• 🏈 Commanders: Bought for $800M in 1999, sold for $6 billion in 2023 (7.6x)
• 🏀 Bucks: Bought for $550M in 2014, sold for $3.2B in 2023 (5.8x)

Wyndham Clark (-10) edged Rory McIlroy (-9) by a stroke on Sunday to win the 123rd U.S. Open and his first major championship, Jeff writes.

Why it matters: Majors are the crucible in which golf legacies are forged. While Clark's surprise victory landed him in the record books, McIlroy's narrow loss extended a stunning drought for one of the world's best.

State of play: It's been quite the ascent for Clark, 29, who was ranked 293rd in the world a year ago.

• Now, with six top-12 finishes in his last nine tournaments, he's up to No. 13 after becoming the fifth straight U.S. Open champ to claim his first major title.
• Clark had missed four cuts and never finished better than 75th in his first six majors before his breakthrough at Los Angeles Country Club.

The other side: McIlroy, still just 34 and ranked No. 3 in the world, has been inarguably one of the world's best golfers over the past decade except in one crucial way: He's now gone 33 consecutive majors without winning, dating back to the 2014 PGA Championship.

• He's come excruciatingly close, with more top-10 finishes in that span (19) than any other golfer.
• That excellent play continued this weekend, where his 59 greens in regulation led the field and his total of 271 was the best U.S. Open score ever by a non-winner.

Yes, but: Because the margins among all-time greats are razor thin, elite athletes are often judged — perhaps unfairly — by their performance on the biggest stage. And despite capturing four majors by age 25, Rory's won the same number in the past nine years as you or I have.

Looking ahead: "I would go through 100 Sundays like this to get my hands on another major championship," McIlroy said at his post-match news conference. If history is any indication, that could come as soon as next month.

• The 151st Open Championship is being held at England's Royal Liverpool Golf Club in July.
• The last time it was played there was 2014, when McIlroy won his third major title.

Go deeper:

• Winners and losers (The Ringer)
• Rory McIlroy and another long walk to nowhere (The Athletic)

Lionel Messi's contract with Inter Miami will pay him between $50 million and $60 million per year, Sportico reports.

By the numbers: Messi's deal is expected to make him the highest-paid athlete in U.S. sports by average annual contract value.

• ⚽️ MLS: Messi (~$55M per year)
• 🏀 NBA: Nikola Jokić ($54.4M)
• 🏈 NFL: Lamar Jackson ($52M)
• ⚾️ MLB: Max Scherzer/Justin Verlander ($43.3M)
• 🏒 NHL: Nathan MacKinnon ($12.6M)

Plus: In addition to his contract with the club, Messi will also have revenue-sharing agreements with league partners Apple, Adidas and Fanatics.

• Those deals are still being negotiated, per Sportico, but are expected to be worth many more millions.
• Messi will reportedly get a cut of revenue from new subscriptions to Apple's MLS Season Pass.

In related news … NYT got their hands on Messi's contract with Saudi Arabia's tourism authority, which pays him millions to vacation there and promote the country on social media.

🏀 A new Big 3: The Suns sent Chris Paul and more to the Wizards for Bradley Beal in a blockbuster trade, forming a new "Big 3" in Phoenix.

🇺🇸 USA on top: The USMNT beat Canada, 2-0, in Sunday's Nations League Final to win its ninth major trophy (seven Gold Cup, two Nations League).

🏀 Huggins resigns: Bob Huggins resigned as West Virginia men's basketball coach after he was arrested Friday night for driving under the influence.

⚾️ Hits machine: Miami's Luis Arráez bumped his average back to .400 on Monday with his third 5-hit game in 15 days. The last player to do that? Ty Cobb in 1922.

🏀 Morant suspension: The NBA suspended Ja Morant for 25 games without pay following an investigation into a second video of Morant holding a gun.

Frances Tiafoe cracked the top 10 for the first time on Monday, claiming the No. 10 spot one day after winning the Boss Open.

Why it matters: Tiafoe is the third Black American man to reach the top 10, joining Arthur Ashe (debuted in 1973) and James Blake (debuted in 2006).

• "Super emotional for a guy like me with my story and everything," said Tiafoe, whose life reads like a Hollywood script.
• "[I'm] a guy who shouldn't even really be here doing half the things he's doing. And now when you say his name, you can say he's top 10 in the world."

🇺🇸 Of note: Tiafoe and fellow 25-year-old Taylor Fritz (No. 8) are the first American male duo in the top 10 since Mardy Fish and John Isner in 2012.

LAS VEGAS — The Strip was even more of a party than usual on Saturday, as thousands of fans came out to celebrate the Stanley Cup champion Golden Knights.

CINCINNATI — Joey Votto homered in his season debut on Monday, lifting the Reds to their ninth straight win after more than 10 months away due to multiple surgeries.

BROOKLYN — Breanna Stewart's huge game (28-14-7) on Sunday made her the first player in WNBA history with at least 200 points, 100 rebounds and 40 assists through their first 10 games of a season.

SEATTLE — How can you not be romantic about baseball, tridents and sunflower seeds?

OBERWIL-LIELI, Switzerland — Swiss cyclist Gino Mäder, 26, died after crashing and falling into a ravine during the Tour de Suisse. A memorial ride was held in his honor the following day, and on Sunday the winner dedicated his victory to Mäder.

SOMBOR, Serbia — Nikola Jokić finally made it back home to his horses, spending Sunday at the track to watch them compete in harness races.

PARIS — The Eiffel Tower provided the backdrop as Paris hosted stop two of the 2023 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series.

INNSBRUCK, Austria — The IFSC Climbing World Cup held its seventh event of the season over the weekend.

The College World Series field will be narrowed further today with two elimination games on ESPN.

• Schedule: TCU vs. Oral Roberts (2pm ET); No. 5 LSU vs. Tennessee (7pm)
• Where things stand: Stanford and Virginia have been eliminated. No. 2 Florida (zero losses) next faces the TCU-Oral Roberts winner and No. 1 Wake Forest (zero losses) next faces the LSU-Tennessee winner as the double-elimination tourney continues. Bracket.

More to watch:

• ⚾️ MLB: Braves at Phillies (6:40pm, TBS); Dodgers at Angels (10pm, TBS)
• 🏀 WNBA: Dream at Wings (8pm, NBA); Lynx at Sparks (10pm, CBSSN); Sun at Storm (10pm, NBA)

Max Verstappen's win in Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix was his 41st F1 victory, tying Ayrton Senna for fifth-most ever.

• Question: Who are the only four drivers with more F1 wins?
• Hint: Verstappen has raced against two of them.

Answer at the bottom.

Lots of baseball in this weekend's top 10. But soccer, softball and lacrosse also make appearances — and tennis tops the list.

Watch all 10.