The Ishbia sports empire might be adding a Major League Baseball team.
Phoenix Suns and Mercury owner Mat Ishbia isn’t the only one in his family tree playing the high-stakes game of pro sports franchise ownership. His brother, Justin Ishbia, is getting in on the action too, having reached a long-term investment agreement that positions him to eventually take controlling interest of the Chicago White Sox.
Jerry Reinsdorf and Justin Ishbia have finalized a long-term investment deal that sets the groundwork for Ishbia to eventually acquire a controlling interest in the White Sox, the team announced. pic.twitter.com/ccJ3u07Xcn
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) June 5, 2025
Two-dollar hot dogs coming to Comiskey Park? Yeah, I know it’s called Guaranteed Rate Field now, but that name sounds like something you’d find stapled to a payday loan flyer in a gas station bathroom. Some names just belong to the people, and no amount of corporate rebranding can bleach that out of the city’s collective memory.
Whispers have followed Justin Ishbia for years, hinting at his ambition to plant a flag in Major League Baseball. Most notably, his name circled around the Minnesota Twins. But this past February, the minority owner of the Chicago White Sox quietly stepped away from that pursuit.
Today, however, brought a turn in that narrative. The White Sox, an organization helmed by Jerry Reinsdorf since 1981, whose tenure has also included ownership of the Chicago Bulls since 1985, announced that Ishbia will hold an option for a controlling interest in the franchise beginning in 2029. And after the 2034 season, he will have the opportunity to assume full control.
The official press release reads as follows.
The agreement provides that, from 2029–2033, Reinsdorf will have the option to sell the controlling interest to Ishbia. After the 2034 season, Ishbia will have the option to acquire the controlling interest. In the event of any such future transaction, all limited partners of the Sox would have the opportunity to sell to Ishbia at that time. In addition to Justin Ishbia, his brother Mat Ishbia, and father Jeff Ishbia will also be significant investors. There is no assurance that any such future transaction will occur, and in no event will such a transaction take place before 2029.
Until such time, the Reinsdorf family will continue to own the controlling interest in the White Sox.
Justin Ishbia, already a minority stakeholder in the Phoenix Suns, the Phoenix Mercury, and Major League Soccer’s Nashville SC, is now poised to add the Chicago White Sox to his growing portfolio of professional franchises.
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