The Lakers Just Sold for $12.5 Billion — the Most Ever for a Sports Team
Bob Iger and Joshua Kushner have agreed to buy a controlling stake in the Los Angeles Lakers from Mark Walter in a deal valuing the franchise at roughly $12.5 billion, the highest valuation ever recorded for any sports team (WSJ).
The agreement was reported by the Wall Street Journal on August 13, 2026 and confirmed by CNBC the prior day. Reuters, citing ESPN's reporting, pegged the transaction value at the same $12.5 billion figure (Reuters). CBS Sports reported that Walter had originally acquired the Lakers for a then-record price of approximately $10 billion (CBS Sports).
No prior deal across any league globally has reached the $12.5 billion mark. The previous benchmark was Walter's own ~$10 billion Lakers purchase, itself a record at the time.
The broader context here is what that jump tells us about the market for famous sports teams. Think of it like a rare painting: there are only so many, they are never making more, and every year more wealthy people want one. There are 30 NBA teams, a shrinking number of them are for sale, and the pool of buyers rich enough to pay these prices keeps growing. That scarcity pushes values up.
The sale does not occur in a vacuum. Federal regulators have been probing Walter's broader financial empire, an investigation reportedly sparked by a whistleblower complaint (WSJ). Yahoo Sports, reporting on August 13, further noted that Walter was reportedly under FBI investigation at the time of the Lakers sale (Yahoo Sports).
It is worth noting that nobody has proven the investigation caused Walter to sell. But the timing is close enough that anyone looking at this deal would reasonably ask the question.
In my view, the most important takeaway is not the Lakers' price tag alone. It is how fast the value of top sports teams is climbing. Walter bought the team for about $10 billion and is selling it for $12.5 billion, both record prices, within a short window. That kind of rapid jump usually happens for one of two reasons: the team is making more money than before, or the pool of people willing and able to buy has gotten bigger and more competitive. In this case, both are likely true.
NBA broadcast deals are getting more lucrative, meaning the leagues are commanding higher fees from networks to air games. At the same time, the group of people who could plausibly buy a team like the Lakers now includes not just wealthy individuals but private wealth funds and media executives like Iger, who can justify paying extra because owning the Lakers also opens doors in content and distribution.
The investigation into Walter adds a layer of uncertainty. If the federal probe expands or leads to charges, people who did business with Walter could face complications down the road. For this deal specifically, the key question is whether the contract includes any protections for the buyers if something goes wrong. Those details are not public. What is public is that the deal goes forward at $12.5 billion, and the market now has a new reference point for what a top-tier sports franchise costs.
