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The NBA’s Phoenix Suns franchise will be sold to Mat Ishbia, the billionaire CEO of Pontiac, Mich.–based United Wholesale Mortgage
UWMC,
-1.97%,
for around $4 billion, according to a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The reported price tag would represent the highest value ever placed on an NBA team, and the second highest price for the sale of any North American sports franchise, trailing only the $4.65 billion sale earlier this year of the NFL’s Denver Broncos.
Here are the top five most expensive sports-franchise sales in the U.S., assuming the Suns sell for the reported price:
$4.6 billion, Denver Broncos, sold to the Walton-Penner group in 2022
$4 billion, Phoenix Suns, sold to Mat Ishbia in 2022
$2.4 billion, New York Mets, sold to Steve Cohen in 2020
$2.35 billion, Brooklyn Nets, sold to Alibaba’s Joe Tsai in 2019
$2.275 billion, Carolina Panthers, sold to David Tepper in 2018
Current Suns owner Robert Sarver put his teams, the NBA’s Phoenix Suns and the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, on the market after an investigation found evidence of a racially and sexually insensitive workplace. The $4 billion reported sale also includes the Phoenix Mercury, the Athletic reported.
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United Wholesale Mortgage is one of the largest wholesale providers of U.S. mortgages and carries a market capitalization of $6.49 billion. Ishbia has a personal net worth of $5.1 billion, according to Forbes.
Ishbia was a member of Michigan State’s 2000 NCAA championship team. Over his collegiate career under legendary coach Tom Izzo, he played in 48 games and scored a total of 28 points to go with 13 assists, 12 rebounds and 7 steals.
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