Mavs owner Mark Cuban submits highest opening bid for Texas Rangers as auction gets under way

Cuban submits highest opening bid for Tx Rangers

FORT WORTH, Texas — The Texas Rangers say a group of investors led by Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has submitted the highest opening bid to buy the team at a rare and unusual auction.

Rangers attorney Martin Sosland says the bid disclosed Wednesday as the auction began is at least $25 million more than the base bid submitted by the only other bidder. That group is led by Rangers president and Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan and sports attorney Chuck Greenberg.

The Greenberg-Ryan group offered about $520 million as its opening bid. An attorney for that group, Tom Lauria, says the bid from Cuban and investor Jim Crane is not higher and shouldn’t qualify.

The judge gave Greenberg-Ryan attorneys an hour to decide whether to submit a higher bid.