The Los Angeles Lakers may have been eliminated from the playoffs for a few weeks now, but on Wednesday, they made a significant move for the future of the franchise. The Buss family has agreed to sell their majority stake in the franchise, and it is the largest sale of a team in United States sports history. Who is now the majority owner of the Los Angeles Lakers, what did the team sell for, and what does this mean for the franchise moving forward?
Buss Family Sells Los Angeles Lakers
Jan 17, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; The Los Angeles Lakers logo at center court at the Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY SportsThe Los Angeles Lakers have been one of the most storied franchises in sports and have new ownership. The Buss family has agreed to sell the majority stake of the franchise to Mark Walter at a valuation of $10 billion, per ESPN. Even through the sale, Jeanine Buss will continue to serve as the governor of the team. The Lakers have been owned by the Buss family since 1979, when Jerry Buss purchased the franchise with the Los Angeles Kings and the Los Angeles Forum for $67.5 million. After his passing in 2013, Buss’ children have owned the team, with Jeanie serving as the governor of the team.
Mark Walter already owned a minority share of the Lakers and is the CEO and chairman of TWG Global. The company has portions of other sports organizations such as the Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Sparks, Cadillac Formula 1 team, the Billie Jean Cup, and the Professional Women’s Hockey League. Walter has been a stakeholder in the Lakers since 2021 and also had the right of first refusal on the majority share of the team. This is now the third NBA franchise to sell in as many years, as the Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics have each sold.
In terms of the future of the Lakers, this gives the franchise more money going into the team and allows more capital for coaching salaries, front office hires, etc. This should be viewed as a positive in the sports world as the Lakers, one of the most prestigious franchises in the world, now have the money to continue being viewed as such. It will be interesting to see how this sale affects other owners/governors in North American sports, but in terms of basketball, with the new broadcast agreement going into effect, it could be time for some more teams to sell.
