Two of the Second City’s major sports teams, the Chicago White Sox and Chicago Bulls, are owned by the same man, Jerry Reinsdorf, and long-frustrated fans of both franchises are probably wondering when that will no longer be the case.Reinsdorf, the owner of the Bulls when they won six NBA championships in the 1990s with Michael Jordan and the owner of the White Sox when they ended an 88-year drought by winning the World Series in 2005, is not well-liked by those fan bases. In fact, Reinsdorf might be among the most widely disliked owners in all of major North American sports after decades of mediocrity in his teams.
But there might be light at the end of the tunnel for the White Sox after Reinsdorf agreed to at least put some kind of timetable out there for a transition of power of his MLB team.
“White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf, 89, erased all of the speculation that the White Sox would be up for sale any time soon, but does have a succession plan in place beginning in 2029, or perhaps even 2034 when he will turn 98 years old,” USA Today’s Bob Nightengale wrote.
Article Continues Below“Reinsdorf, who has been hounded by minority owner Justin Ishbia for years to sell controlling interest of the club, finally agreed to potentially sell it to him beginning in 2029, but not a single day earlier. If Reinsdorf or his family still own[s] the team in 2034, Ishbia has the right to purchase the club without Reinsdorf’s approval. In exchange, Ishbia is contributing capital this year and in 2026. The plan was put in place months ago, as The Athletic’s Jon Greenberg reported, but was not announced until the final day of the owners’ meetings on Thursday.”
But what about the Bulls? Well, according to Nightengale, the NBA franchise will “remain in the family where his son, Michael, is president and COO.”
The Reinsdorf family may ultimately sell the Bulls at some point, especially with NBA franchise values continuing to increase — the Bulls are valued at $5.8 million, according to CNBC — but there is not a publicly known plan for the team if a post-Reinsdorf era were to happen.
