Jerry Reinsdorf | |
|---|---|
_(3x4a).jpg) Reinsdorf in 2011 | |
| Born | Jerry Michael Reinsdorf (1936-02-25)February 25, 1936 (age 89) New York City, U.S. |
| Education | |
| Known for | Owner ofChicago Bulls andChicago White Sox |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 4 |
| Awards |
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Jerry Michael Reinsdorf (born February 25, 1936) is an American sports executive and businessman who is the owner of theNBA'sChicago Bulls andMLB'sChicago White Sox. He started his professional life as a tax attorney with theInternal Revenue Service. He has been the owner of the White Sox and Bulls for nearly 40 years. As of May 2024, his net worth was estimated at US$2.2 billion.[1]
He made his initial fortune inreal estate, taking advantage of theFrank Lyon Co. v. United States decision by theUnited States Supreme Court, which allowed economic owners of realty to sell property andlease it back, while transferring thetax deduction fordepreciation to the title owner.
As the owner and chairman of the Chicago Bulls since 1985, he oversaw a turnaround in the franchise's fortunes, culminating in sixNBA Championships in the 1990s (1991–1993 and 1996–1998). He is controversial for his involvement (along withJerry Krause) in breaking up the championship team by not hiring backPhil Jackson. He signedMichael Jordan as a baseball player during his sabbatical from basketball. He also moved the Bulls fromChicago Stadium to theUnited Center.
After Reinsdorf's purchase of the White Sox in 1981, the franchise made the playoffs in 1983 for the first time since 1959, and won theWorld Series for the first time since 1917 in2005, the only year during his tenure as owner in which the White Sox have won a playoff series. Reinsdorf moved the White Sox fromComiskey Park to New Comiskey Park in 1991 (now known asRate Field). In both sporting endeavors, he has developed a reputation as an anti-labor union hardliner. Since the early 1990s, he has been considered one of the most influential basketball owners. He has been influential in instituting thesalary cap andrevenue sharing.On April 4, 2016, Reinsdorf was elected to theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a contributor.[2]
In 2024, Reinsdorf'sWhite Sox lost a modern MLB record 121 games, which led to recently increased criticism of Reinsdorf.[3]
Reinsdorf was born to aJewish family inBrooklyn, New York,[4][5] and is the son of asewing machine salesman.[6][7] He attendedErasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn,[8] Reinsdorf was in the stands the dayJackie Robinson debuted for theBrooklyn Dodgers, breaking the major leagues' longstanding "color line".[9]
Reinsdorf earned abachelor's degree fromGeorge Washington University.[10] where he became a member ofAlpha Epsilon Pi.[11] He subsequently moved to Chicago in 1957.[10] Reinsdorf became acertified public accountant and lawyer[12] as well as a registered mortgageunderwriter and a certified reviewappraiser.[10][13] He leveraged a full scholarship offer from theUniversity of Chicago Law School into a scholarship from theNorthwestern University School of Law.[7]
Reinsdorf worked as an IRS lawyer after graduating from Northwestern in 1960, where his first case concerned the tax delinquency ofBill Veeck, who at the time owned the White Sox.[6] In 1964, he went into private practice. He developed a specialty in real estate partnershiptax shelters. He sold his business interests in the real estate partnership in 1973 and formed Balcor, which raised US$650 million to invest in buildings under construction. He sold Balcor in 1982 for $102 million toShearson Lehman Brothers, theinvestment banking and brokerage arm ofAmerican Express.[6] However, he continued to be President of the company for several years thereafter.[14]
In 1981, Reinsdorf purchased theChicago White Sox for $19 million.[6] The purchase was brokered byAmerican National Bank who arranged for alimited partnership.[15] He followed previous eccentric White Sox ownersCharles Comiskey, who was known as amiser, and Veeck, who was known as a prankster who gutted the team by trading away promising prospects.[16][17] Soon after buying the White Sox, he signedGreg Luzinski andCarlton Fisk. He also tripled the team promotional budget and increased the number of teamscouts from 12 to 20. By the1983 Major League Baseball season the White Sox made the playoffs with the best record in the Major Leagues.[6][17] The team initially signed a television deal with the newly foundedSportsvision under the new leadership of Chairman Reinsdorf and Vice ChairmanEddie Einhorn, but that arrangement quickly fizzled.[18] Einhorn continued as Vice Chairman of the White Sox until his death in 2016.[19]
In 1985, Reinsdorf purchased theChicago Bulls as part of asyndicate for $16 million, following in the footsteps of Einhorn, who had purchased theUnited States Football League'sChicago Blitz franchise in 1984.[20] In the months prior to the purchase,Milwaukee businessmanMarvin Fishman had been awarded a $16.2 million judgment against the Bulls.[21] Fishman had been illegally blocked from purchasing the team in 1972.[22] Reinsdorf purchased the team from an ownership group that includedLamar Hunt,George Steinbrenner,Walter Shorenstein, Jonathan Kovler,Lester Crown,Philip Klutznick, and the estate ofArthur Wirtz,[20] and he held a $9.2 million controlling interest in the team.[23] Reinsdorf's share of 56.8% of the team was purchased from Klutznick, Steinbrenner, Shorenstein and the estate of Wirtz.[24] His purchase ended an era in which the Bulls were managed by committee with decisions by conference call, verdicts by vote.[25] Reinsdorf acquired his majority interests on March 11, 1985, and Kovler sold his 7% stake in the team on January 29, 1986, bringing Reinsdorf's interest to 63%.[26][27] The following week Reinsdorf oustedRod Thorn asgeneral manager and replaced him withJerry Krause.[28]
Led by Jordan, who was drafted the year before Reinsdorf purchased the team, the team's popularity and on-court success rapidly improved.[6] The Bulls draftedHorace Grant andScottie Pippen and traded forBill Cartwright to joinJohn Paxson andMichael Jordan under the tutelage ofhead coachDoug Collins. In 1989, the franchise promoted then-Bulls assistant coachPhil Jackson to be Collins's replacement at the team's helm. Jackson would prove to be the final core addition, catalyzing the Bulls' dynastic championship run of six NBA championship titles in eight seasons (1991–1998).[29] Whereas before Reinsdorf's purchase the team had an average attendance of 6,365 in the 17,339-seatChicago Stadium,[6] from November 20, 1987, through Jordan's 1998 retirement, the Bulls sold out every game,[23] including their first few seasons at theUnited Center, where they play to this very day.
"The North Siders always tended to look down onSouth Siders ... Part of being a White Sox fan is you hate theCubs."
The White Sox wonAmerican League regular season Division Championships in 1983, 1993, 2000, 2005, 2008, and 2021 under Reinsdorf, and won the2005 World Series.[4] They also led the central division at the conclusion of the strike-shortened1994 Major League Baseball season.[4] The World Series victory made him only the third owner in the history of North American sports to win a championship in two different sports,[citation needed] and boosted the value of the franchise to over $300 million.[16] Reinsdorf signed Jordan to a minor league contract with the White Sox after Jordan's announcement that he wanted to play baseball, a move many thought was solely due to Jordan's drawing power.[31] Reinsdorf had tried to convince Jordan not to give up basketball,[32] but had not attempted to make Jordan the highest paid player in the game, as some felt he should have.[33]
As both a basketball and baseball owner, Reinsdorf has been described byTime as a "cheapskate."[34][35] As a baseball owner, he has a reputation as one of the most militant, anti-union, hard-line owners.[13][36][37]Newsweek described him as "one of the hardest heads in the1994 baseball strike."[33] In the baseball offseason between the 1992 and 1993 seasons, he completely abstained from thefree agent market.[38] Reinsdorf was one of the last holdouts to the 1996 labor agreement that instituted thesalary cap while retainingarbitration rights for the players.[39][40] His 1996 signing ofAlbert Belle made news because of his widely publicized general opposition to spiraling player salaries.[13] The $55 million signing was a turning point in the decision by the baseball owners to agree torevenue sharing.[41] The signing made Reinsdorf the employer of the highest paidMajor League Baseball player and highest paid professional basketball player (Jordan) at the same time.[13] Reinsdorf had just re-signed Jordan after the1995–96 NBA season.[42] Jordan had been underpaid for most of his career,[43] but Reinsdorf did not feel he could justify the $30 million salary from a business standpoint.[44][45] Even his most successful baseball team was not highly paid: the2005 World Series champion White Sox had the 13th highest payroll of the 30 Major League Baseball teams.[35]
After Reinsdorf purchased the team in 1981, the White Sox experienced erosion of fan and media support.[17] He complained about oldComiskey Park with its foibles such as numerous obstructed view seats and threatened to move the White Sox.[46] Among his threats was moving the team toItasca orAddison, Illinois inDuPage County.[46][47] Reinsdorf, through his real estate business, purchased 100 acres (400,000 m2) in Addison.[48] Chicago MayorHarold Washington lobbied the Illinois legislature,[46] and subsequently then-Illinois GovernorJames R. Thompson promoted a package of incentives to retain the team in Chicago. The state floated bonds to buildNew Comiskey Park and let Reinsdorf keep all parking and concession revenues, as well as the $5 million per year from 89 skyboxes.[6] Reinsdorf andChicago Blackhawks ownerWilliam Wirtz contributed $175 million to fund the construction of the largest arena in the United States.[49] When theUnited Center opened in 1994 all of the skyboxes were leased for up to eight years.[50] As per thecollective bargaining agreement, Reinsdorf was allowed to exclude 60% of luxury suite revenue from "basketball-related income" and thus it is not part of the revenue sharing income.[51]
"Jerry is clearly the most powerful [Major League Baseball] owner."
Reinsdorf is a powerful baseball owner who in 1988 stopped the sale of theTexas Rangers and later influenced the sale of theSeattle Mariners.[6]Edward Gaylord andGaylord Entertainment Company had first attempted to buy the Rangers in 1985.[52] Reinsdorf was also said to be largely responsible for the ousting ofFay Vincent as theCommissioner of Baseball in 1992.[53][54] He had previously undermined Vincent by employingRichard Ravitch as the league's labor negotiator at a salary higher than Vincent's.[6][55] By the early 1990s, Reinsdorf and acting Baseball commissioner (as well asMilwaukee Brewers owner)Bud Selig had assumed baseball's mantle of power fromAtlanta Braves owner,Ted Turner, andNew York Yankees owner,George Steinbrenner, who had in turn taken over the sport fromBrooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers ownerWalter O'Malley,St. Louis Cardinals ownerGussie Busch, andOakland Athletics ownerCharlie O. Finley.[56]
In the 1980s, Reinsdorf,Bud Selig and theAmerican League President colluded to dissuade thePhiladelphia Phillies from signingLance Parrish who was aDetroit Tigersfree agent.[57] During the strike, Reinsdorf, who was an anti-union hard-liner,[37] was so pessimistic that he did not expect baseball to resume until the1996 Major League Baseball season.[58] In the early 1990s he was able to get new stadiums (United Center andNew Comiskey Park) for his teams.[59]
Some fans and columnists have accused Reinsdorf of breaking up the championship Bulls team after their third straight title and sixth in eight years, claiming theBulls could have competed for more titles withMichael Jordan,Scottie Pippen and good support from the rest of the team that in the eight-year span includedDennis Rodman,Horace Grant,Toni Kukoč,Ron Harper,B. J. Armstrong, and coachPhil Jackson. Some accounts claim that because Jackson feuded with both Reinsdorf and Krause and because both Jordan and Pippen were linked to Jackson, the team was broken up.[34]Forbes describes the scenario as an example of owner greed.[60] Many note that Phil Jackson's decision not to return as coach and Jordan's retirement during the1998–99 NBA seasonlockout impacted the decisions of several players on whether to return to Chicago.[61] While Reinsdorf had held out hope that he could convince Jackson and Jordan to return and thus had introducedTim Floyd as President of Chicago Bulls Basketball Operations instead ofhead coach,[62] according to film footage from documentary seriesThe Last Dance, Krause had made it clear to Jackson that he was not wanted back.[63]
Reinsdorf was one of two bidders for thePhoenix Coyotes that would commit to not relocating the team.[64] On July 29, 2009, Reinsdorf and his group were approved for ownership of the Coyotes for $148 million.[65] In August 2009, it was reported that Jerry Reinsdorf & Ice Edge LLC had dropped its bid for the Coyotes, leaving only Balsillie and the NHL as bidders for the team.[66] The NHL bid ultimately prevailed, however the league stated it wished to re-sell the franchise as soon as possible. On March 24, 2010, it was reported that Reinsdorf was once again a possible buyer for the Phoenix Coyotes.[67] Reinsdorf had been working out an arrangement to make the deal more feasible with the municipality ofGlendale, Arizona.[68] As late as August 2011, negotiations between Reinsdorf and the City of Glendale were still in process for the purchase of the Coyotes.[69] However, in 2013, the Coyotes were sold to IceArizona, a group of investors that did not include Reinsdorf. The Coyotes would later rebrand themselves as theArizona Coyotes in order to expand their reach to the greaterArizona region in 2014, though they would ultimately relocate to nearbyUtah to become theUtah Mammoth and potentially disband the franchise entirely after failed attempts to succeed with multiple new owners since then in 2024.
Reinsdorf is largely responsible for therevenue sharing of the internet rights of Major League Baseball in which all teams have shared equally since Major League Baseball Advanced Media (known as BAM) was established in 2000.[70] Reinsdorf also endeavored to sell the naming rights to the New Comiskey Park toU.S. Cellular in a $68 million 20-year deal that funded a 7-year $85 million overhaul of the stadium that ended prior to the2008 Major League Baseball season. The overhaul included the removal of top rows of the upper deck, replacement of the baby blue seats with traditionally-colored green ones and dozens of other upgrades.[71] Prior to the seven-year overhaul, the2001 White Sox barely broke even financially with a $700,000 operating profit on revenues of $101.33 million.[72]
Reinsdorf won a major revenue sharing legal battle with other NBA owners over the Chicago Bulls broadcasts onWGN-TV. The 55 game schedule on the superstation for an audience of 35 million competed with the NBA broadcasts, but Reinsdorf was permitted to maintain the contract.[6] As recently as 2004, the Bulls continued to be the NBA's most profitable team, earning $49 million inoperating income and having an estimated valuation of $356 million.[73]
Reinsdorf feels that ifMajor League Baseball Players Association chiefDonald Fehr had not opposedsteroid testing, baseball would have taken a stand against steroid use much sooner. He feels that in the end this delayed action will cost some players election into theNational Baseball Hall of Fame.[74]
Reinsdorf will also be remembered as the owner of the2024 White Sox, the team that broke the modern Major League Baseball single-season loss record, previously held by the1962 New York Mets.[75]
Sports ownership
Halls of Fame
Other
Reinsdorf has been involved in Chicago MayorRichard M. Daley's initiative to improvestandardized test scores in the 559Chicago Public Schools.[79] He has also been involved in other extensive charitable work including those of CharitaBulls and White Sox Charities. His philanthropy and community development have been notable in theNear West Sidecommunity area near the United Center.[10] The White Sox Charities have donated to theChicago Park District with particular purpose of funding construction and maintenance baseball andsoftball fields.[4]
He has been a member of theboard of directors of Shearson Lehman Brothers, Inc., the Northwestern University Law School Alumni Association,LaSalle Bank,EQ Office and numerous other corporations and charities. He currently serves as a Life Trustee ofNorthwestern University.
Throughout the years, Reinsdorf has been active in the affairs of baseball, serving on the Executive Council and Ownership, Long Range Planning, Restructuring, Expansion, Equal Opportunity, Strategic Planning, Legislative and Labor Policy Committees of Major League Baseball, he also serves on the Boards of MLB Advanced Media and MLB Enterprises.[4]
In 2013, Reinsdorf partnered withMark Sullivan, Noah Kroloff,Dennis Burke,David Aguilar, and John Kaites to found Global Security and Innovative Strategies.[80]
In 1956, while they were both students atGeorge Washington University, he married Martyl Rifkin (March 4, 1936 – June 28, 2021).[81] She was born in Denver, Colorado, the daughter of Milton and Vivette Rifkin (née Ravel); the Rifkin family moved to Chicago in 1944, and Martyl attendedMorgan Park High School.[81] Their union resulted in four children, Susan, David, Michael, and Jonathan.[81][10][82]
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