Phoenix Mercury guard Kelsey Plum joined a rebuilding roster fighting for a playoff spot this August, yet the franchise’s biggest story this week involves Suns and Mercury owner Mat Ishbia’s mortgage empire, not basketball.
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United Wholesale Mortgage confirmed the move in a statement obtained by Bloomberg.
“Mat is finalizing an agreement to buy out the remaining Suns and Mercury shareholders, bringing the Ishbia family’s total ownership to almost 99% of the teams,” UWM said in a statement via Bloomberg.
The buyout is a result of prolonged tension between Ishbia and the minority shareholders, who were in opposition to a prior capital call. This would raise the Ishbia family’s ownership stake in the Suns and Mercury to nearly 99%, further consolidating its position as the franchises’ controlling ownership group.
That turbulence sits alongside a separate storm gripping the league the Mercury compete in. The WNBA addressed its ongoing transgender eligibility debate directly this week following a task force meeting.
“Today’s meeting covered a wide range of topics, including ongoing discussions on transgender athletes,” the WNBA stated in the release. “We will continue to engage all league stakeholders in the coming weeks and months. There are no immediate eligibility matters affecting the WNBA.”
This statement came after a meeting of a task force that involved team presidents and general managers, following two former NBA players, Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White, declaring their intention to play in the 2027 WNBA draft. Both took advantage of the loophole in the league’s collective bargaining agreement that does not define what is “woman.”
The league rejected both submissions because they were simply mocking women’s sports in bad faith, and this has come when there have been ongoing protests against the league for the past weeks.
Back on the court, the Mercury is far from postseason contention. Phoenix sits 10th in the WNBA standings at 13-22, seven games back of a playoff spot with nine games left under head coach Nate Tibbetts, despite the August trade for Plum.
The front office may soon see a familiar face join it. Diana Taurasi, the Mercury icon who hung up her shoes following the 2025 season, stated that she may be joining the team’s ownership group in one or two years’ time.
The situation for Suns fans is more monetary than anything else. While Ishbia’s wealth has taken a hit along with UWM’s stock price, there will be no consequences for Suns player Devin Booker or his teammates because of the company’s derivatives loss of $603 million.
The net worth of Ishbia is around $6.3 billion despite the drop from $9.8 billion (last recorded in 2025), and with the $4 billion acquisition of the Suns in February 2023, there have been massive investments from Ishbia. There is nothing to indicate that the strategy will change soon.
From the buyout, UWM’s losses, and the league’s discussion on eligibility, Ishbia has now taken charge of an organization dealing with a lot more off-court drama than anything happening on the court.