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Mark Walter Set to Acquire the Lakers in Historic Deal
The Buss Family and Mark Walter Are Nearing a Record-Breaking Deal in U.S. Sports History
$10B Deal!
If you’ve followed the Los Angeles Lakers over the years, or if you watched their HBO series Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, then you should be familiar with the Buss family, who have owned the team since 1979 when Dr. Jerry Buss paid $67.5 million.
But the big NBA news this week is that the Buss family has agreed to sell its majority stake of the team to businessman Mark Walter, the CEO and chairman of TWG Global, the firm that already has stake in the Lakers and the Los Angeles Dodgers, among other sports franchises.
The Laker franchise’s latest valuation is a whopping $10 billion, or the kind of number that only the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys can compare to.
The Buss family purchased the Lakers in 1979 for $67.5M and sold the franchise for $10B 46 years later, per @ShamsCharania 🤯💰 pic.twitter.com/6RWetixZVh
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 18, 2025
This marks the most expensive sale of a sports team in history, breaking the recent records set by some sales in the $6 billion range:
- In 2023, Josh Harris led a group that paid $6.05 billion to purchase the NFL’s Washington Commanders from Dan Snyder.
- In March 2025, Bill Chisholm of STP Partners paid $6.1 billion to purchase the Boston Celtics.
Magic Johnson is a business partner of Walter, and he praised the sale:
Laker fans should be estatic. A few things I can tell you about Mark – he is driven by winning, excellence, and doing everything the right way. AND he will put in the resources needed to win! I can understand why Jeanie sold the team to Mark Walter because they are just alike -…
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) June 18, 2025
What Happens Next for the Lakers?
Before you make any NBA betting predictions, here’s the effect this will have on the Lakers this year:
- Walter will see his stake in the team increase from roughly 26% to 66%, giving him majority control.
- The Buss family will still keep a share of approximately 15%.
- Jeanie Buss will continue her role as the team’s governor for at least a few more years.
The first thing people will point out is that Walter is going to spend whatever money he can to help this team in the NBA Finals odds and win more championships. After Walter bought the Dodgers in 2012, they quickly turned into an annual contender and have won two World Series while paying a huge contract, like bringing Shohei Ohtani to the team.
The Lakers just traded for Luka Doncic in February, and they have a player option with LeBron James to deal with this year. However, it must be said that the ability to spend on players in the NBA and MLB differs greatly:
- The NBA has a soft cap where a team like the Lakers can afford to spend more than smaller-market teams, but there is a luxury tax threshold followed by a first apron and a second apron. If a team exceeds the second apron, it could face many restrictions such as losing the ability to do a sign-and-trade with free agents, trades could be restricted, and draft picks could be frozen.
- The MLB has no salary cap, so a team like the Dodgers can basically spend as much money as they want, and while they have a luxury tax too, it’s less restrictive than the NBA with a cap in place.
In other words, don’t make NBA expert picks that the Lakers will just be allowed to acquire Giannis Antetokounmpo and build a super team for LeBron and Luka. But they could push the second apron more than most teams if Walter is so determined to spend to win.
Between LeBron’s pending decision and a full season of Doncic, all eyes will be on the Lakers as usual.
