The Lakers just got sold for the second time in under a year and a half, and the number attached to it is absurd. ESPN's Ramona Shelburne reported Josh Kushner and Bob Iger are buying the franchise from Mark Walter for a record-breaking price north of $12 billion, later confirmed at $12.5 billion.
The Los Angeles Lakers are being sold to American businessman Josh Kushner and Bob Iger for a record breaking price over $12 billion, multiple sources told ESPN. Kushner and Iger were involved in the expansion process in Las Vegas, but a stunning turn, they pivoted to make an aggressive offer to buy the Lakers from Mark Walter, who had purchased a controlling interest in the team from the Buss family last year.
The wild part isn't just the price, it's how we got here. Kushner and Iger had been quietly working toward an NBA expansion bid in Las Vegas, per Shelburne's reporting, with the expansion fee expected to land somewhere in the $7 billion to $10 billion range. Instead of waiting on the league to award a new franchise, they pivoted and threw an aggressive offer at Walter for an existing crown jewel. Marc Stein put the scale of the deal in context, calling it richer than any North American sports franchise sale in history.
The Lakers, for the second time in less than 18 months, are being sold. This time, according to @ramonashelburne, it’s a record $12 billion deal — richer than any North American sports franchise sale — that would transfer ownership from Mark Walter to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger.
Both sides put out statements almost immediately. Kushner and Iger said they were "deeply honored" to become stewards of the franchise, name-checking Jerry and Jeanie Buss directly and pledging to build on that foundation. Walter's statement was more reflective, calling ownership "one of the great honors" of his life and thanking Jeanie Buss and the Buss family for welcoming him in.
Statement to ESPN from Josh Kushner and Bob Iger: “As lifelong NBA fans, we are deeply honored for the opportunity to become stewards of the Los Angeles Lakers, one of the most iconic sports franchises in the world. We have immense respect for the leadership and vision of Jerry and Jeanie Buss. Our long-term commitment is to build on that foundation, compete at the highest level, and serve this extraordinary team, its fans, and the city of Los Angeles."
One detail worth sitting with: Walter is only selling the Lakers here. He's keeping the Dodgers, according to Shelburne, and per ClutchPoints citing Dan Woike, the WNBA's Sparks aren't part of this transaction either. So this isn't Walter exiting L.A. sports ownership, it's a targeted cash-out on the basketball team specifically, and a massive one. Legion Hoops did the quick math on how massive: Walter reportedly cleared $2.5 billion in appreciation in roughly a year on the flip.
The timeline here is what makes it feel so jarring. The Buss family agreed to sell majority control to Walter back in June 2025 at a $10 billion valuation, but the NBA's Board of Governors didn't formally approve that sale until the end of October 2025, meaning Walter was the Lakers' actual controlling owner for less than 9 months before agreeing to hand the keys to Kushner and Iger. Stein also flagged that Jeanie Buss was stipulated in writing to stay on as operating governor for 5 years under Walter's deal, and now there's real uncertainty about what the leadership structure looks like under new ownership.
For a franchise with 17 championship banners and this much cultural weight, ownership churn like this is almost unheard of. Two sales in 18 months, each one setting a new record for a North American sports team, tells you where the ceiling on these valuations actually is right now — and it's still going up.