The Los Angeles Lakers are changing hands again, and the reported price has already set a new sports-market record.
Quick Take
- Reporting says the Lakers are being sold to a group led by Josh Kushner and Bob Iger for about $12.5 billion.
- Reporters describe the deal as the highest price ever paid for a North American sports franchise.
- The new figure comes only months after the Lakers were valued at about $10 billion in an earlier ownership move.
- The latest transaction still needs approval from the National Basketball Association’s Board of Governors.
What the Reports Say
Multiple outlets reported that Mark Walter is selling the Los Angeles Lakers to a group led by Josh Kushner and Bob Iger for more than $12 billion. USA Today put the figure at $12.5 billion, while NBC News said the team is being sold for record $12.5 billion and noted that the story was first broken by ESPN. Sports Yahoo reported the same price and said the deal would set a new record for a professional sports franchise.
The reporting also says the sale would have to clear the National Basketball Association’s Board of Governors. That step matters because sports-team sales often move through league approval after the first breaking reports hit the news cycle. In this case, the public story is not just about who bought the team. It is also about how fast a headline valuation can harden into a record before the full deal papers are public.
Why the Price Stands Out
The Lakers’ reported $12.5 billion sale lands less than a year after the team was valued at about $10 billion in the transaction that brought Mark Walter into control. ESPN said that earlier deal involved the Buss family agreeing to sell majority ownership for a franchise valuation of approximately $10 billion, with the family keeping a minority share for a period of time. That earlier price became the benchmark the new reporting now blows past.
Because of that short gap, the latest figure has become more than a team-sale story. It is a sign of how fast elite sports assets can climb in value, even when the ownership structure is still moving through league approval. The reports do not say the new number is a finished closing price, and they do not include the signed sale papers. They do, however, show a market where a famous brand can be repriced upward in a matter of months.
What Remains Unclear
The public reporting leaves several details open. The articles do not provide the executed purchase agreement, the closing terms, or a league filing for the 2026 sale. They also use slightly different wording, with some outlets saying “$12.5 billion” and others saying “more than $12 billion.” That means the headline figure is strong enough for breaking news, but the exact structure of the transaction is still not fully spelled out.
The Los Angeles Lakers have been sold again, this time for $12.5 billion, a record sale for an NBA team. Here's who bought it. https://t.co/gyMRkDdKWM
— azcentral (@azcentral) August 12, 2026
The Lakers’ history makes the price even easier to understand. ESPN reported that the Buss family had owned the team for 46 years and that Jerry Buss bought it in 1979 for $67.5 million. A franchise that was once a modest sports investment is now part of a deal measured in the billions. For fans, owners, and taxpayers watching the sports business from the outside, that kind of jump reinforces a familiar feeling: the game may be on the court, but the money race is everywhere else.
Sources:
facebook.com, usatoday.com, espn.com, youtube.com
