The group of Sacramento investors vying for the Sacramento Kings has put 50 percent of its bid into an escrow account. 

According to West's Encyclopedia of American Law, such an account is established so that a third party can hold something of value until a contingency is met.  "The escrow agreement is a contract. The parties to such an agreement determine when the agreement should be released prior to making the deposit.  After the escrow agreement has been entered, the terms for holding and releasing the document or money cannot be altered in the absence of an agreement by all the parties."

The last confirmed bid for the team from the group of investors including Vivek Ranadive and Mark Mastrov was $341 million. 

Hedge fund investor Chris Hansen is leading Seattle's bid to buy the team.  On Monday, he posted on the sonicsarena.com website that all of the Seattle investors' $357.5 million offer is also in an escrow account.