Team owner Mat Ishbia is in “zero” danger of having to sell the Phoenix Suns in the coming months despite his company's recent $452 million quarterly loss, league sources told The Arizona Republic this
week.
Ishbia is in the process of buying out longtime Suns and Phoenix Mercury minority owners Scott Seldin and Andy Kohlberg and bringing his family's total ownership to essentially 99%, a source said.
The financial breakdown will have Mat Ishbia at 78% ownership of the franchise; his brother, Justin, at 20%; and his father, Jeff, at 1%, a source said.
Companies owned by Seldin and Kohlberg own approximately 14% of the teams.
Ishbia bought the Suns and Mercury from Robert Sarver for a then-record $4 billion during the 2022-23 season.
Recent losses for Ishbia's United Wholesale Mortgage, Inc., along with the drama surrounding the pending sale of the Los Angeles Lakers, has kept NBA ownership in the spotlight this offseason.
UWM suspended its quarterly dividend and reported about $452 million in losses for the second quarter of 2026.
It also announced a $2.05 billion capital partnership with Oaktree Capital Management. The proceeds will be used to repay existing debt, according to Nicole Roberts, a UWM spokesperson.
“Trying to use this deal to suggest Mat’s financial situation with UWM or the Phoenix Suns is threatened is clearly ignoring the facts," she said in a statement. "As part of the deal, Mat is choosing to personally commit multiple hundreds of millions of dollars into UWM alongside Oaktree."
The source addressed Ishbia's financial issues, saying UWM makes between $100 million and $200 million a quarter, and Ishbia owns nearly 90% of that. And if he ever were in a financial pinch, Ishbia could sell 20% of the Suns to say a private equity company for a billion or so dollars, given the team's value, the source said.
Entrepreneur and investor Joe Pompliano posted this week that Ishbia borrowed “a billion” from JP Morgan in purchasing the Suns, deeming it a good strategy because Ishbia “didn’t have to sell a ton of stock in his mortgage company to fund the purchase.”
Pompliano wrote UWM stock is down 70% since the deal closed and that the bank will ask for more collateral, referencing that as a “margin call.”
He then posed the question of whether Ishbia would have to sell the Suns if JP Morgan reaches its limit.
The source said the actual loan amount is at $700 million. Ishbia could pay it at any time, but in this situation, keeping the debt is helpful for tax purposes, the source said.
JP Morgan isn’t in a rush for Ishbia to pay it back, either, the source said. The stock market has typical peaks and valleys, and a rise could address UWM’s recent losses.
The Suns begin the 2026-27 regular season on the road Oct. 21 against the Portland Trail Blazers. Phoenix is coming off a 45-win season and a playoff appearance.
Player 15 Group announced Aug. 18 the Suns would have the largest exterior LED videoboard for an NBA and WNBA arena placed outside of Mortgage Matchup Center's plaza entrance.
Measuring 226 feet wide by 41 feet tall, the 9,266-square-foot installation is a multi-million-dollar project, a source informed The Republic on Aug. 18.
“We want everyone who visits Mortgage Matchup Center to have a memorable experience, and that starts the moment they arrive,” Ishbia said in an Aug. 18 news release.
“We’re creating a place where fans can come together for the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and our new LED display gives us a powerful new platform to celebrate the Suns and Mercury, connect with our community and engage with our fans.”
Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Mat Ishbia in 'zero' danger of having to sell Phoenix Suns, sources say
