Texas Rangers owner Tom Hicks will enter into an exclusive negotiation for the sale of the team to a group headed by Pittsburgh sports attorney Chuck Greenberg that includes team president Nolan Ryan.

Hicks Sports Group said in a release Tuesday night that Greenberg's group "primarily consists of Dallas-Fort Worth investors," including the family of Hicks, who would maintain a stake in the team under the proposal. Ryan would remain president of the team.

Greenberg's group and Hicks will work over the next 30 days to complete the transaction. It then will be forwarded to the commissioner's office and require approval by 75 percent or more of all owners.

"Our family has chosen to negotiate with the group we believe will be best to protect and ensure the long-term positive future of this franchise," Hicks said in the release. "Nolan Ryan is the personification of the word trust; he and Chuck worked diligently and relentlessly to get to this point."

The sale is expected to be for more than $500 million, but Greenberg and Hicks declined to discuss the specifics of the proposal.

"The deal isn't done yet, but I am confident we can complete this soon and have the Rangers well-positioned for the future," Greenberg said. "We are committed to stability, continuing to work the baseball plan that's in place, and doing whatever is necessary to build upon the team's tradition and bring home a World Series championship."

Greenberg's proposal was chosen over bids submitted by former agent Dennis Gilbert and Houston businessman Jim Crane, who just last week submitted a new one after Greenberg and Gilbert had emerged as finalists.

Forbes earlier this year valued the Rangers at $405 million, 15th among the 30 major league teams. Hicks bought the team for $250 million in 1998, from a group that included former President George W. Bush.

The San Diego Padres were sold for just over $500 million this year and the Cubs were bought in October for $845 million in a deal that also included Wrigley Field and 25 percent of Comcast Sportsnet.

Baseball commissioner Bud Selig had called Tuesday a "hard and fast deadline" for Hicks to submit a prospective buyer for the team.

Hicks Sports Group this year defaulted on $525 million in loans tied to the Rangers and the NHL's Dallas Stars, which Hicks has owned since 1996. Hicks has said that was a deliberate move to force lenders to renegotiate terms of the deals.

The group of 40 lenders holding debt from Hicks Sports Group will have to approve the sale of the Rangers.