As Justin Ishbia withdrew from his pursuit of purchasing the Minnesota Twins to amass a whole bunch of shares from White Sox minority investors, the White Sox made sure to point out that his maneuverings gave him no planned pathway to a controlling interest in the team.
As of today, now there's a plan. The White Sox announced it in a noon press release:
The Chicago White Sox today announced that Jerry Reinsdorf and Justin Ishbia have reached a long-term investment agreement that establishes a framework for Ishbia to obtain a future controlling interest in the White Sox. As part of the agreement, Ishbia will make capital infusions into the White Sox as a limited partner in 2025 and 2026 that will be used to pay down existing debt and support ongoing team operations.
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. Reinsdorf, chairman of the White Sox since purchasing the franchise in 1981, remains the sole day-to-day decisionmaker for the club.
This agreement just about satisfies all conclusions that could've been drawn between actions and words since February. Bob Nightengale said two months ago that Reinsdorf had "zero interest in selling as long as he remains in good health," but given that Reinsdorf would be 93 at the opening of the transaction period in 2029, and 97 by the time the ball is in Ishbia's court, it doesn't take an especially morbid mindset to think about charting what comes next. In the meantime, he gets a few more years of having his way, which jibes with the present messaging.
Speaking of 2029, that's when the White Sox's lease for Rate Field expires, and it'd sure be weird if Isbhia bailed on one perfectly good and clear ownership opportunity for a murkier one, especially when the White Sox's next ballpark plans are so critical to the team's future. That's why there was no particular reason to believe the White Sox when they said there was no pathway to ownership, even if it wasn't ready to announce.
(Perhaps it's not entirely a coincidence that it comes on the heels of the Chicago Fire announcing their stadium plans for the South Loop plot the White Sox had been tied to, but even if the events were unconnected, it's a serendipitous reminder of the stakes.)
At any rate, if White Sox fans don't yet have a firm end date on Reinsdorf's tenure, they have a much more concrete idea, and depending on the size of Ishbia's capital infusions, they may not have to resign themselves to the idea of $60 million payrolls until the team gets good again. Instead, White Sox fans can read Phoenix Suns news to ready themselves for new flavors of frustration:
Despite their shared background as Michigan State alums, this week’s interview was the first time Mat Ishbia met Jordan Ott, but a source confirmed he impressed Ishbia, Gregory and CEO Josh Bartelstein with his attention to details and his willingness to outwork everybody.
According to another source, Ishbia emailed the Suns basketball operations team internally on Wednesday, taking accountability for not doing enough to establish a culture and identity in Phoenix. The Suns owner stated that he tried “running the typical NBA owner playbook” of “hiring experts, signing checks and getting out of the way,” but no one was happy with the outcome.
Now, despite insisting that he is not reviewing film, designing offenses or running the draft room, Ishbia intends to be “extremely active in the decisions and management.” He acknowledged his more unconventional approach as an owner is to ensure the Suns get back to the requisite level of winning that’s been absent the last few years.
This announcement overshadows what figured to be the biggest news of the day, in that the White Sox reportedly reached a deal with Comcast to air CHSN broadcasts on Xfinity. Fans of the Sox, Bulls and Blackhawks will have to pay an extra $20 a month because the network will be placed on the Ultimate Tier, but those who already started paying $20 a month for the app have an easier time with the accounting.
