Former Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver is doling out at least $5 million in bonuses to employees and donating another $5 million to the team’s charity after selling the team, ESPN reported Thursday.
Sarver is giving $20,000 individual bonuses to 250 to 300 Suns employees, per the report.
Sarver sold his 37 percent ownership of the Suns and Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA for $1.48 billion to Mat Ishbia, a sale that was finalized last week.
The eligible employees were informed in an email from Ishbia that they’d be receiving the bonus in their next paycheck, per the report. Full-time employees who started on or before Feb. 22, 2022, were getting the $20,000 bonus, according to ESPN.
The sale ended Sarver’s tenure with the Suns, which dated to 2004.
Sarver announced on Sept. 21 that he would be selling both the Suns and Mercury franchises following the release of a damning report of his workplace conduct that corroborated claims of harassment and inappropriate behavior.
The NBA suspended Sarver for one year and fined him $10 million after an independent investigation into allegations he created a toxic work environment in Phoenix. That report found that Sarver used the “N-word” at least five times, sexually harassed female employees, and yelled and cursed at workers during nearly two decades of ownership.
–Field Level Media