The Buss family is selling the majority ownership of the Los Angeles Lakers to Mark Walter. The sale fee is now the largest sale of a U.S. professional sports franchise.
Buss Family Sells Lakers To Mark Walter
Mark Walter is entering agreement to purchase majority ownership of the Lakers from the Buss family for a valuation of approximately $10 billion, the largest sale of a professional sports franchise in the world, sources tell ESPN.
$10 billion. https://t.co/mgZkxcdXnp
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 18, 2025
Per ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Buss family is entering an agreement to sell their stake in the Lakers to Walter for a staggering $10 billion.
The Buss family will keep a minority share of the team of over 15% for an undisclosed period of time. Jeanie Buss will remain as the Lakers’ governor.
In 1979, Dr. Jerry Buss purchased the Lakers from Jack Kent Cooke for $67.5 million. The deal also included the rights to the Los Angeles Kings and the Los Angeles Forum.
Buss turned the Lakers into the biggest ticket in town. Since that purchase, the Lakers have won the most championships in the NBA with 11, including five in the ’80s.
After Buss died in 2013, the Lakers were passed to his children, with Jeanie becoming the Lakers’ governor.
Walter, the CEO and chairman of TWG Global, has several investments in sports, most notably the Los Angeles Dodgers, the baseball team he’s owned since 2012. Walter also owns the Los Angeles Sparks, the Professional Women’s Hockey League, and Andretti Global. Walter is also part of the group that owns Chelsea in the Premier League and RC Strasbourg in Ligue 1.
In 2021, Walter became a stakeholder in the Lakers and received the right of first refusal on the majority share of the team.
Laker legend and Walter’s business partner, Magic Johnson, approved of the sale, saying that Walter will do right by the “Lakers team, organization, and fans.”
I know that my sister Jeanie would have only considered selling the Lakers organization to someone she knows and trusts would carry on the Buss legacy, started by her father Dr. Buss. Now she can comfortably pass the baton to Mark Walter, with whom she has a real friendship and…
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) June 18, 2025
Lakers Set The Record For Largest Sale Of U.S. Professional Sports Franchise
Reporting for @SportsCenter on the Los Angeles Lakers' historic $10 billion sale and what it means, including the Buss family retaining just over 15% of minority ownership: pic.twitter.com/UHZLyiU7ZZ
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 18, 2025
It pays to be the Buss family.
In 2024, Forbes valued the Lakers at $7.1 billion, the world’s eighth most valuable franchise. Fast forward to now. Buss sells the Lakers for a record-breaking $10 billion.
The $10 billion figure becomes the largest sale of a professional sports franchise in U.S. history.
The previous record was held by the Lakers’ biggest rival, the Boston Celtics. In March, Bill Chisholm, the managing partner at Symphony Technology Group, agreed to purchase the Celtics from the Grousbeck family for $6.1 billion. The sale came one year after the Celtics won the NBA championship.
The Washington Commanders is the only other sale to go north of $6 billion. The Harris-Blitzer Sports Entertainment group purchased the Commanders from Dan Snyder for $6.05 billion in 2023.
