“The Chairman” might sit atop both ownership groups, but as Wednesday was a reminder of, in some instances the Bulls and the White Sox operate very differently.
With a report surfacing that chairman Jerry Reinsdorf was “open to selling” the Sox, the question around the United Center was if it was true – a fact that some in the know have strenuously dismissed – what would it mean for the Bulls?
Very little.
The Sun-Times reported last year that both Jerry and Michael Reinsdorf see owning an NBA team as an investment to keep in the family, not only because it’s a salary-capped league, but one that continuous to grow in value with the national television deals and expected expansion coming in the next few seasons.
One of the reasons that Jerry all but passed the major day-to-day operations of the team to Michael years ago was to make sure that it did stay in the family.
Admittedly, Jerry Reinsdorf still has the final say of major decisions from both organizations, but it was Michael Reinsdorf that decided to allow John Paxson to step down from the executive vice president of basketball operations job, and then went on the search that produced his replacement in Arturas Karnisovas.
Jerry Reinsdorf has been very public about Major League Baseball dooming itself without a salary cap. And while baseball is his first love, those that know him have always felt that at some point the Sox would be sold. However, not now.