Billionaire mortgage lender Mat Ishbia finalized a $4 billion purchase of the Suns, setting the highest sale ever of an NBA franchise.
The previous mark was set when Joe Tsai bought the Nets for $2.35 billion in 2019. Ishbia's purchase officially concludes the tenure of Robert Sarver.
In addition to the Suns, the WNBA’s Mercury are also a part of the purchase. The franchise released a statement Tuesday evening, saying the deal also includes “more than 50% ownership of the team including all of Robert Sarver’s interest and a portion of the interest of minority partners.”
Sarver said that Ishbia is the “right leader to build on the franchise legacies of winning” and “shepherd” both teams into the next era.
“Matt [Ishbia] has exactly the right spirit, commitment and resources to pursue championships,” the statement read. “Equally important, though, is his philanthropic outlook and commitment to using sports as a way to elevate and connect people. I know he shared unwavering support for women’s basketball and I look forward to watching him become a unifying force across the Valley of the Sun.”
Justin Ishbia, Mat’s brother and a founding partner of Shore Capital, is also making a significant investment in the Suns, per Wojnarowski. He will serve as alternate governor of the franchise.
Sarver announced he would sell both the Suns and the Mercury in September after he was handed down a $10 million fine and suspension of one year following a league investigation into workplace misconduct.
The investigation found that Sarver had used the n-word at least five times “when recounting the statements of others” during his time with the Mercury and Suns. It also found he consistently acted inappropriately toward employees, including “instances of inequitable conduct toward female employees,” which included “sex-related comments,” the league said in a release. Sarver also reportedly engaged in “inappropriate physical conduct toward male employees.”
In November 2021, ESPN reported accounts from more than 70 current and former Suns employees that detailed a toxic workplace environment under Sarver that were both racist and misogynistic. These included instances describing when Sarver said the n-word, such as when he said he hired Lindsey Hunter as head coach over Dan Majerle in ’13 because “these [n-words] need a [n-word].” The NBA opened its investigation soon after that report was published.
Despite the findings of the investigation, the league determined that none of Sarver’s behavior was “motivated by racial or gender-based animus.”
Mat Ishbia, the CEO of Michigan-based company United Wholesale Mortgage, played college basketball at Michigan State from 1998 to 2002. He was a part of three straight Final Four teams and won the national championship with the Spartans in ’00.
According to Wojnarowski, Ishbia has remained close with his former coach Tom Izzo and previously made a $32 million donation to the Michigan State men’s basketball program.
