WNBA is attracting more NBA owners. Would the Reinsdorfs — or another Bulls owner — have interest in Sky?

In the wake of this expansion, the Bulls and Sky coordinated their first partnership this summer by moving a pair of Sky games against the Indiana Fever to the United Center.

If a Bulls owner was looking for proof of the Sky’s viability in a larger venue, those games provided confidence. Fever star Caitlin Clark didn’t play in either game, and Sky star Angel Reese sat out the second game with a back injury. Despite those absences — which were well-known in advance — the Sky drew more than 19,000 fans to both games.

That might seem like an auspicious start, but there’s a wide chasm between hosting a couple of games and making a full-throated investment in the WNBA.

The Reinsdorfs are about to undergo the most significant rearrangement of their financial investments in four decades. The family struck a deal earlier this year to transfer its controlling interest in the White Sox to billionaire Justin Ishbia by 2034 — and possibly as early as 2029.

The eventual sale will refocus basketball at the center of the family’s sports investments as the Reinsdorfs are expected to retain ownership of the Bulls and the United Center for the foreseeable future. Amid this restructuring, they still haven’t shown any interest in the Sky — privately or publicly.

If not the Reinsdorfs, then who?

For the WNBA’s remaining independent owners, the possibility of a future sale is becoming a question of when — not if. But the path to identifying a potential buyer for the Sky remains unclear.

The Pagliuca bid for the Sun shows that NBA-WNBA co-ownership doesn’t necessarily require a bid from a primary NBA owner. The Bulls have a notable collection of minority owners that includes the Hunt family, owner of the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs, and billionaire Neil Bluhm, but this group has remained similarly taciturn about a potential WNBA investment.

Cubs co-owner Laura Ricketts did invest in the team in 2023, but only as one member of a six-woman investment group that collectively purchased a 10% stake.

For now, this vacuum of interest leaves the Sky in a precarious position as an independently owned team attempting to keep up in a league soon to be dominated by billionaires. Deep pockets are now a necessity in the WNBA — and for any potential investor wishing to make a bid for a team.

When Alter brought the Sky to Chicago, the reported expansion fee was $10 million. Two decades later, the league’s minimum expansion fee has ballooned to $250 million. Pagliuca offered $325 million for the Sun, an indication of the potential payday that looms if and when Alter is ready to hear offers.

The Sky might carry a lower valuation than other WNBA franchises because of their lack of real estate holdings — they don’t own their arena or have a stake in their new training facility, scheduled to open next spring — but the market and brand hold significant weight. Earlier this year, Forbes estimated the Sky’s value at $240 million.

The price of the team has gone up. How long it takes for new investors — in Chicago or elsewhere — to match that number will define the future of the franchise.