A source close to the Charlotte Bobcats confirmed Sunday that Michael Jordan made a huge personal financial commitment to cut a deal to buy the team.

The source, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the process, said Jordan’s decision came just before a Friday-night deadline to make a deal or lose his right of first refusal. Had he lost that right, Bob Johnson likely would have accepted an offer from a group led by former Houston Rockets president George Postolos.

Now Jordan’s challenge will be recruiting investors to share the risk of owning the Bobcats, once Jordan is approved as controlling owner sometime in the next two months.

As the source said, Jordan won’t want to risk possibly “losing $30 million a season,” all by himself, as Johnson has of late.

Recruiting partners proved difficult for Johnson in Charlotte. He had a group of about 18 minority partners but owned the vast majority of the Bobcats himself. Those partners, in recent years, declined to participate in cash calls to cover the team’s financial losses. They have been told to expect “significantly less” than their initial investment in return to make this deal work.

It’s unclear whether any of those minority partners will be part of Jordan’s ownership group. But Jordan, with his world fame and high profile, may have an easier time finding partners for an NBA team in his home state.

Jordan, who has not commented on his deal with Johnson, has been a minority partner with oversight of basketball operations since June of 2006. Under NBA rules, one investor for each NBA team must be designated “controlling owner,” but that investor doesn’t have to own a majority of the team – his share can be as small as 15 percent.

An exact purchase price hasn’t been revealed, but industry sources estimate it’s in excess of $250 million.