Ballin' on a Billion: The Lakers Get a Staggering Makeover - The Largest Sports Deal in History Closes
Los Angeles Lakers seal record-breaking sports deal, marking it as the priciest in history.
Facebook Twitter Whatsapp E-Mail Print Copy Link The business magnate Mark Walter has stepped up to the plate - snatching the Los Angeles Lakers for a breathtaking ten billion dollars. No franchise in sports, not even a foreign team, has ever been sold for this king's ransom. Walter's track record speaks for itself.
Mark Walter favors secrecy when it comes to gabbing. But one thing's for sure - this Iowan farmer's son knows how to splash cash. Over a decade ago, he, along with his mates, pocketed the iconic baseball club Los Angeles Dodgers for a then record-breaking $2.15 billion. Now, the 65-year-old keeps the basketball legacy Los Angeles Lakers, home to powerhouses like LeBron James and Luka Doncic - for a mind-blowing ten billion dollars.
"I'm ecstatic for all Lakers fans worldwide!" former legend Magic Johnson penned down, donning his purple-and-gold sentiment. The Hall of Famer, who took home five NBA titles in those colors, also lauded the club's CEO Jeanie Buss: "My sister has smashed it with this blockbuster deal." Not a single sports franchise has traded hands for such a colossal sum before. Is it too much moolah? Not if Walter has anything to say about it. "I ain't here to pinch pennies," he quipped back in 2004, after owning the Dodgers, "I'd rather say we've got a top-notch squad and maybe we've overspent a bit."
The Slick Dodgers Seal the Deal
Walter's strategy certainly seems to pay off. With deep pockets, the well-oiled Dodgers nabbed trophies in 2020 and 2024, and their current value estimates to $6.3 billion. In 2023, they inked Japanese sensation Shohei Ohtani to a monumental ten-year contract worth a whopping $700 million. Last year, the club coughed up a whopping $103 million in "luxury tax" for surpassing the league's salary cap of $237 million.
Gossip "A Lousy Idea"? Super Leagues Face-off? Europe Goes Head-to-Head with NBA Expansion Plans" With Walter willing to shell out a few extra bucks for the Lakers as well, golden days may be just around the corner for the 17-time champions. James is set to rake in approximately $52.6 million in the upcoming season, Doncic $46 million, and German Maxi Kleber $11 million. Expect more big-ticket players to join the roster. Going over the "salary cap" of $154.6 million is likely unavoidable.
Walter helps manage Guggenheim Partners, an investment firm boasting $325 billion in assets under management. His second major sports acquisition, broken by ESPN, even tops the Lakers' arch-nemesis, the Boston Celtics' $6.1 billion sale price in May.
Walter Dabbles in Multiple Arenas
The Lakers have been a Buss family affair since 1979, with a purchase price of $67.5 million. Jerry Buss' death in 2013 set the ball rolling for the club to pass to his six kin, with Jeanie (63) securing the CEO role. The sale to Walter, who has owned 26% of the Lakers since 2021, reportedly faced opposition from two of the six siblings.
Besides the Lakers, Walter co-owns the Los Angeles Sparks (women's basketball), the Los Angeles Kings (ice hockey), and the fresh Formula 1 team Cadillac. Privately, he's a season ticket holder for the Chicago Cubs, bitter rivals of the Dodgers. In one of his rare interviews, Walter confessed his preference for staying in the shadows and leaving team leadership to those who know the ropes better than him. But when it comes to sound investments, Walter seems to know his onions.
Sources: ntv.de, tno/sid
- Los Angeles Lakers
- Basketball
- USA
- NBA
The Los Angeles Lakers, a basketball team based in the USA and a part of the NBA, have been sold for a staggering $10 billion, making it the largest sports deal in history. Mark Walter, the business magnate behind the acquisition, also owns the Los Angeles Dodgers, another sports franchise in the USA, and has a track record of making expensive sports-related investments.
