The Los Angeles Lakers’ Record $12.5 Billion Sale Resets The Market For Sports Teams

The news that billionaire venture capitalist Josh Kushner and former Disney CEO Bob Iger are buying a controlling stake in the Los Angeles Lakers at a record-breaking $12.5 billion valuation, first reported by ESPN on Wednesday morning, came as a shock in more ways than one. The deal breaks Walter’s own record for the purchase price of a professional sports team, less than a year after his $10 billion deal to take a control interest in the Lakers from the Buss family—who sold the team after 46 years—closed in October, and it once again resets the rest of the market for the rest of the NBA. This year has also included record-breaking team sale agreements in the NFL and MLB. Venture capitalist Vinod Khosla led an investor group that agreed to buy the Seattle Seahawks for $9.6 billion in August, and private equity manager José E. Feliciano’s family reached a deal in May to buy the San Diego Padres for $3.9 billion. By Hank Tucker, Forbes Staff Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices