by PHOENIX — Mortgage executive and former Michigan State basketball guard Mat Ishbia is the new majority owner of the WNBA’s Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury after the NBA’s board approved his plan to buy the stake. control of those franchises by Robert Sarver, a person with knowledge of the matter said Monday evening.
The vote was 29-0, with the Cleveland Cavaliers, owned by fellow former MSU and rival mortgage tycoon Dan Gilbert, abstaining, according to a person who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the decision final had not yet been publicly announced .
Ishbia agreed to the deal on Dec. 20, which brought the combined value of the Suns and Mercury to $4 billion. Ishbia and his brother Justin said then they would acquire more than 50% of the franchises, which includes the entire conflicting Sarver stake, as well as some stakes from minority partners.
Mat Ishbia will be the governor of the Suns, Justin Ishbia will be the alternate governor. Now they can take on those roles just days before Thursday’s NBA trade deadline and with the Suns squarely in the middle of their Western Conference playoff run.
There are tentative plans to introduce Mat Ishbia on Wednesday.
No other sale in NBA history has been completed at a $4 billion valuation of the franchise involved. Joe Tsai bought the Brooklyn Nets and Barclays Center for $3.3 billion in 2019 and Tilman Fertitta bought the Houston Rockets for $2.2 billion in 2017.
The sale was finalized hours after Jason Rowley, who was the chairman and chief executive officer of the Suns, decided to leave the team in anticipation of leadership changes, a person familiar with the matter told the Associated Press. The person, speaking on condition of anonymity because Rowley’s resignation has not been shared outside the organization, said Rowley’s departure was “shared internally” within the Suns organization on Monday.
Mat Ishbia is the chairman, president and chief executive officer of United Wholesale Mortgage, which bills itself as the nation’s largest mortgage lender. He had to successfully complete a vetting process by the NBA before the transaction could be finalized, so other league owners voted either for or against the move.
Forbes recently listed his net worth as just over $5 billion. Ishbia’s company went public in January 2021 and is a rival to Gilbert’s Quicken Loans.
Ishbia played at Michigan State under head coach Tom Izzo and was a member of the Spartans’ NCAA championship team in 2000.
The NBA suspended Sarver in September for a year, as well as fined him $10 million, after an investigation found he engaged in what the league called “workplace misconduct and organizational failures.”
The retribution comes nearly a year after the NBA asked a law firm to investigate allegations that Sarver had a history of racist, misogynistic and hostile incidents during his nearly 20-year tenure overseeing the franchise.
Shortly thereafter, Sarver announced he would be looking to sell the Suns and the Mercury. He bought the Suns in 2004 for $401 million, which was an NBA record at the time.
Ishbia has been mentioned previously as a possible buyer for professional franchises, including the NFL’s Washington Commanders, and is a major donor to Michigan State.
This article originally appeared in the Detroit Free Press: Mat Ishbia endorsed by NBA as new owner of Phoenix Suns
