Justin Ishbia enters White Sox investment deal, could be next owner

Jerry Reinsdorf has been the owner of the White Sox since 1981 and the Bulls since 1985, so he’s been something of a constant in the Chicago sports scene for the entire lives of countless fans. That will change eventually, though, and an agreement reported on Thursday is a reminder of that. Per ESPN, Reinsdorf has entered into an “investment agreement” with billionaire Justin Ishbia that portends a future where ownership of the White Sox changes hands.

Per the report, “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.”

That the White Sox would eventually leave the Reinsdorf family is no surprise. Jerry Reinsdorf, 89, is on the record as telling his son, Michael, that he has “an obligation to do what’s best (for the other investors)” after his death. “That likely means putting the team up for sale … The team will be worth more out of town.” And that it could be to Ishbia also checks out: Justin Ishbia and his brother, Mat — currently the co-owners of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns and WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury — backed out of a deal to buy the Minnesota Twins in February, despite being so far into the process of the deal that MLB had vetted the pair, per The Athletic.

They did so in order for Justin to increase his minority investment in the White Sox, which now has the opportunity to become the controlling interest in the team as early as 2029. This might also be signalling, considering Ishbia’s ties to Chicago, that the White Sox will not be pursuing a move to Nashville or any other city as they had been working on behind the scenes for the past couple of years, with Reinsdorf going so far as to meet the mayor of Nashville during the 2023 offseason’s winter meetings, which were held there.

That being said, Ishbia is also a minority owner in MLS’s Nashville SC, meaning, there’s little reason for that bit of new-stadium-talk leverage to disappear, if the goal is to get public stadium subsidies in place in time for Ishbia to take the reins of the franchise.

The White Sox are currently in last place in the AL Central and the AL as a whole thanks to a 19-43 record. In 2024, they set the all-time losses record with 121.

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