Los Angeles Lakers sold to Mark Walter for $10B, the richest deal in sports history
Jun 18, 2025
Key Points
- Mark Walter acquires majority control of the Los Angeles Lakers for $10 billion, the richest deal in sports history, breaking the Boston Celtics' six-month-old record of $6.1 billion.
- Walter, who already owned 27% of the Lakers, now controls a sports portfolio spanning the Dodgers, Lakers, Chelsea, the Los Angeles Sparks, and a Formula One team.
- The Buss family's 46-year reign ends, ceding control of a franchise that has generated returns roughly in line with the S&P 500 since 1979.
Summary
Mark Walter, CEO of Guggenheim Partners and owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, is acquiring majority control of the Los Angeles Lakers for $10 billion, the richest deal in sports history. Walter already held a 27% minority stake purchased in 2021. The Buss family, who have owned the franchise since Jerry Buss bought the team in 1979, will now sell majority control.
The deal values the Lakers above the Boston Celtics, which sold for $6.1 billion in March. The Celtics sale had broken the previous record set by the NFL's Washington Commanders at $6.05 billion in 2023. Basketball valuations have risen following the NBA's media rights deal announced last year, worth $77 billion.
Walter's sports portfolio now spans the Dodgers, Lakers, Chelsea in the English Premier League, the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks, and the newly formed Cadillac Formula One team. The Lakers sale ends roughly a century of family control. The franchise was originally the Minneapolis Lakers, named for Minnesota's abundance of lakes, before relocating to Los Angeles.
The Buss family's 46 years of ownership since 1979 generated returns slightly below the S&P 500, indicating strong growth relative to other sports assets but no market outperformance.