The Los Angeles Lakers are changing hands again, and this time the price tag is staggering: a reported $12.5 billion, the most ever paid for a global sports franchise. The deal would send the team from Mark Walter, who took majority control barely ten months ago, to venture capitalist Josh Kushner and former Disney chief Bob Iger — a turnaround so fast it has stunned even seasoned sports-business watchers.
According to ABC7 Los Angeles, multiple sources told ESPN that Kushner and Iger have offered to buy the Lakers from Walter for over $12 billion, a price that would set a new record for the highest sum ever paid for a professional sports team. Forbes puts the final number at $12.5 billion, eclipsing the roughly $10 billion valuation Walter's own purchase carried less than a year ago and topping the $9.6 billion sale of the Seattle Seahawks in July 2026, according to Forbes. In a statement carried by ABC7, Kushner and Iger said they are honored to become stewards of the Lakers and plan to build on the franchise's foundation while serving the team, its fans, and Los Angeles.
Why Walter Is Selling So Soon
Walter, who is also the CEO and chairman of TWG Global and has interests in the Los Angeles Dodgers, became the Lakers' majority owner in October 2025 after purchasing a controlling interest from the Buss family, per ABC7. The NBA Board of Governors unanimously approved that bid the same month, with Walter's purchase carrying an approximately $10 billion valuation. He told ABC7 that owning the Lakers was one of the great honors of his life.
But the exit is happening amid serious outside pressure. Federal prosecutors and the SEC have been investigating Walter's insurance holdings, including Delaware Life, over more than $16 billion in undisclosed related-party loans to affiliated ventures, according to The Real Deal. The Los Angeles Times has also detailed how those related-party loans are being scrutinized as part of the probe. Compounding the pressure, Walter suffered a previously undisclosed stroke during the Dodgers' 2024 World Series run, which led him to delegate substantial management responsibilities across his financial and sports holdings, Hoodline reported in its earlier coverage of Walter's health, with reporting originally surfaced by The Wall Street Journal and New York Post.
A Front Office Already in Upheaval
Even before the sale talks emerged, Walter's ownership group had been aggressively reshaping the Lakers. In February, Dodgers executive Lon Rosen was named business president, replacing 30-year Lakers executive Tim Harris, and by May the front office had cut more than a dozen staffers as the new regime restructured operations — moves Hoodline chronicled in its coverage of the Lakers front-office layoffs. Whether that restructuring survives under Kushner and Iger remains an open question, one the dossier's own reporting flags as worth watching as the sale moves forward.
The Buss family, meanwhile, is staying put in one key respect. When Jerry Buss's heirs sold majority control in 2025, they retained a minority stake of at least 15%, which has allowed Jeanie Buss to remain the team's governor, according to Hoops Rumors. That arrangement means day-to-day franchise representation stays in family hands even as majority ownership changes for the second time in 14 months.
From Las Vegas Expansion Bid to Storied Franchise
Kushner and Iger were not shopping for the Lakers out of nowhere. Both men had been front-runners pursuing an NBA expansion team in Las Vegas before pivoting to this deal, per ABC7's report that the pair had been involved in the Las Vegas expansion process. The Washington Post similarly notes the pivot from an expansion bid in Nevada to control of an existing marquee franchise in Southern California.
Kushner, the 41-year-old founder and managing partner of venture capital firm Thrive Capital, holds an estimated net worth of $5.2 billion and already owns a minority stake in MLB's San Francisco Giants, per Forbes. Thrive Capital manages tens of billions in assets, with investments in OpenAI, Instagram, and Spotify. Iger stepped down from his second stint as Disney's CEO in March 2026 and now advises Thrive Capital while co-owning NWSL club Angel City FC, a role that deepens his ties to the Los Angeles sports scene.
What Happens Next
The purchase agreement still needs formal sign-off from the NBA Board of Governors, which is scheduled to convene for its next official meeting in New York in September, according to The Real Deal. That vote will determine whether the sale can close and whether the league raises any concerns tied to Walter's ongoing federal and SEC scrutiny.
In Forbes' 2025 NBA valuations, the Lakers ranked as the league's second-most valuable team at $10 billion, trailing only the Golden State Warriors at $11 billion and ahead of the New York Knicks at $9.75 billion and the Los Angeles Clippers at $7.5 billion. A $12.5 billion sale would blow past all of those figures, underscoring just how quickly institutional investors have come to view marquee sports franchises as resilient, high-value assets.
