The Great NBA Mortgage Company War is officially over, according to Mat Ishbia.
The NBA and United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) launched a new multi-year agreement on Thursday. The consumer-facing brand of UWM, Mortgage Matchup, has been named the official mortgage partner of the NBA and WNBA. For both leagues, this is the inaugural mortgage collaboration.
Ishbia, the owner of the Phoenix Suns, is the manager of UWM Mortgage. They are fierce competitors of Rocket Mortgage, the loan provider established by Dan Gilbert, the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Gilbert and Ishbia also have a fierce rivalry in person. The two men went to Michigan State together and have a history of acrimonious disagreements in both their personal and professional lives (you can read more about their feud here). Ishbia recently went so far as to publicly disparage Gilbert in certain remarks.
According to Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic, UWM advertisements may air during nationally televised Cavaliers games in 2019 as a result of the team’s recent deal with the NBA.
This, of course, means that we could see UWM ads during nationally broadcast Cavaliers games next season. The Cavs are owned by Dan Gilbert, who has his own mortgage company and he is a longtime rival of Ishbia. https://t.co/qeJC7n1iMt
— Mike Vorkunov (@MikeVorkunov) May 16, 2024
Although it’s unclear if Gilbert and Rocket Mortgage were in the running to be the NBA’s official mortgage partner, Gilbert can’t be happy that his bitter competitor Ishbia and UWM ended up winning the title in the end.
