Ariath Piol , right, and Diogo Gonçalves of Real Salt Lake celebrate during a home game against San ... More Diego FC on March 8. (Photo by Bryan Byerly/ISI Photos/Getty Images) Getty Images Co-owner David Blitzer is in advanced talks to sell a controlling stake in Real Salt Lake of the MLS and the Utah Royals of the NWSL to the Miller family that previously owned the NBA’s Utah Jazz, according to a report published Friday by Sportico that has since been confirmed by The New York Times and GiveMeSport. If completed, this would be the second time the club has changed hands since 2020. But it’s important to note the circumstances are very different. Five years ago, previous owner Dell Loy Hansen put the club up for sale under duress after a report from The Athletic detailing his repeated use of racist language in the presence of team employees. Eventually MLS had to take over the sale process before it was finally sold to Blitzer and his partner Ryan Smith. This time around, reports suggest it’s Blitzer taking a proactive role in selling their club to another interested party, with talks reaching the advanced stage before the media got a whiff of the negotations. For Real Salt Lake fans, that context may be secondary to a few immediate thoughts that may or may not go in this order: This explains the team's sudden recent sell-off of talent. At least the new ownership group is also local. Why is this happening again? While the circumstances of the two transactions are considerably different, one reality remains the same: The decision to transfer any asset as large as a collection of pro soccer clubs is always about timing. MORE FOR YOU NYT Mini Today: Hints, Clues And Answers For Saturday, March 29 Russia Is Jamming Ukraine’s Precision Glide Bombs NSA Warns iPhone, Android Users—Change Message Settings Here’s four reasons why Blitzer may have identified this as a good time to attempt to sell his controlling interest in the clubs. General Economic Uncertainty Economic uncertainty has reached record levels in 2025, according to an index from Baker, Bloom & Davis, and when uncertainty increases, the probability of an economic slow-down rises. So if Blitzer had always planned to sell his controlling share in RSL at some point in the near future, that climate might cause him to act sooner than later to find a buyer whose view was longer term. Lack Of Confidence In Post-Messi Era Major League Soccer’s reach, and by proxy its club’s valuations, have increased significantly in recent years, in concert with the arrival of Lionel Messi to the league and the approach of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. But it’s possible Blitzer may not be as confident as others in the league’s ability to continue those trends after the World Cup is played and Messi’s career winds down. How MLS retains fans who were drawn to the competition simply because of Messi remains one of the toughest questions facing the league. If Blitzer isn’t confident the league will do well answering it, he may forecast that RSL won’t accrue value in the near-future as quickly as it has in the recent past, and conclude this is a good time to unload his asset. Explosion of NWSL Club Valuations As part of the negotiations to acquire RSL, Smith and Blitzer purchased the rights to re-start the then-defunct Utah Royals for a steep discount. Since then, the average valuation of NWSL teams has increased by 57% just from 2023 to 2024, according to Sportico, which could provide an enormous return for Blitzer relative to what he paid for the club. And he may have rationalized that such growth is unlikely to continue in a similar manner, making this a good time to sell. Moderate Auto Industry Recovery The Miller family’s fortune is founded upon the car dealership industry, and that particular sector experienced particularly violent setbacks in the immediate onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, around the time RSL was previously for sale. The sector has mostly recovered, however, which might put the family in a better position to consider pro sports ownership again than several years ago when Blitzer and Smith ultimately ended up purchasing the club. Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Editorial StandardsForbes Accolades