Justin Ishbia, a billionaire Vanderbilt University board member and Nashville SC minority owner, has reached an agreement that — in time — could make him the next owner of the Chicago White Sox.
Justin Ishbia
Courtesy of VU
But that shouldn’t be taken as a sign the White Sox are on the verge of moving to Music City.
The White Sox announced Thursday that current owner Jerry Reinsdorf and Ishbia had reached a long-term investment deal, one that establishes a framework for Ishbia to obtain a future controlling interest in the team.
As part of the agreement, Ishbia will make capital infusions into the White Sox as a limited partner in 2025 and 2026, capital that will be used to pay down existing debt and support ongoing team operations.
In addition, 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 deal, all limited partners of the Sox would have the opportunity to sell to Ishbia at that time.
But there is no guarantee the future transaction will occur, and it wouldn’t happen before 2029.
Until then, the Reinsdorf family will continue to own controlling interest in the White Sox. Reinsdorf, 89, has been chairman of the White Sox since purchasing the franchise in 1981 and remains the sole day-to-day decision-maker for the club.
There’s long been speculation about the White Sox and a possible move to Nashville, and those rumors heated up in 2023, when Reinsdorf met with Mayor Freddie O’Connell when Major League Baseball held its Winter Meetings in Music City late that year.
O’Connell later termed that meeting “introductory in nature.”
The White Sox have a stadium lease at Rate Field through 2029 and have been seeking to build a new facility elsewhere in Chicago.
Ishbia is the founder, and also a managing partner, of Shore Capital, a lower middle-market private equity firm with offices in both Chicago and Nashville.
In addition to serving on the Vanderbilt Board of Trust, Ishbia earned a juris doctor degree from Vanderbilt Law School, as well as a certificate in law and business from Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management. He donated $10 million to Vanderbilt’s Law School in 2021 (read here).
In 2023, Ishbia and his brother, Mat, acquired a majority stake in the NBA’s Phoenix Suns and the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury for a reported $4 billion. Justin Ishbia serves as an alternate governor for the Suns, Mercury and Nashville SC.
Forbes estimates Ishbia’s net worth at $4.3 billion.
A Michigan native, Ishbia doesn’t sound as if he is itching to move the White Sox out of Chicago, according to a statement he relayed to reporters Thursday.
“This is an investment in the future of the Chicago White Sox, and I am excited for the opportunity to deepen my commitment to the city and the team,” Ishbia said through a spokesperson.
“I love Chicago, have always loved baseball, and am thrilled to marry two of my passions. I am also very pleased to have my brother Mat and father Jeff joining me in this investment, bringing their collective business and sports acumen to the partnership.”
Ishbia’s family founded and owns United Wholesale Mortgage, a company located in downtown Chicago. Ishbia is also reportedly building a $40 million mansion in Winnetka, Ill., on lakefront land just north of Chicago, per The Chicago Sun-Times.