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Report: Former Michigan State basketball player Mat Ishbia finalizing purchase of Phoenix Suns, Mercury

ns_headshot_2024-clearby:Nick Schultz•12/20/22•

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Michigan State Spartans basketball court at Breslin Center
Photo by Adam Ruff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

More than 10 years after he was a walk-on basketball player at Michigan State, billionaire Mat Ishbia is reportedly closing in on a deal to become an NBA owner. He’s finalizing a deal to purchase the Phoenix Suns and Mercury, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported.

Ishbia is well-known in Michigan State circles even beyond his playing days. He’s the President and CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage and is worth an estimated $5.5 billion, according to Front Office Sports. The deal to purchase the Suns and Mercury is worth $4 billion, The Athletic and Stadium’s Shams Charania reported.

The Suns went up for sale in September after an investigation into previous owner Robert Sarver for allegedly running a toxic work environment. Sarver was fined $10 million and suspended for a year, and he put the team up for sale shortly after the punishment was handed down.

Ishbia, 42, played at Michigan State from 1999-2002 and was part of the 2000 national championship team. He’s also given back to his alma mater in a big way since his playing days came to an end, including contributing $14 million toward football coach Mel Tucker’s contract extension.

Ishbia and United Wholesale Mortgage have also been involved in the NIL space at Michigan State. The company announced its plan to give out NIL scholarships to the Spartans’ women’s basketball and volleyball teams. The company said it planned pay athletes $700 per month for the full year, pending the completion of assigned promotional social media posts.

“The NIL deals we made last year with MSU’s men’s basketball and football players was one of the first and largest deals at the time,” Ishbia said. “We wanted to get our feet wet and test it out. We’re happy we did, as the success has been more than expected. We’re excited to expand this opportunity to all of the athletes on the women’s basketball and volleyball teams and are eager to see the influence they have on educating consumers about career opportunities at UWM and the benefits of working with an independent mortgage broker.”

On3’s Jeremy Crabtree contributed to this report.