{"id":2090627,"date":"2026-08-13T01:49:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T22:49:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2090627"},"modified":"2026-08-13T01:49:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T22:49:10","slug":"the-11-largest-north-american-sports-franchise-sales-starting-with-the-lakers-twice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2090627","title":{"rendered":"The 11 largest North American sports franchise sales, starting with the Lakers \u2026 twice"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"Article_ContentContainer__jBNW3 article-content-container bodytext1\">\n<p>The price to own a piece of professional sports keeps going up \u2026 and up \u2026 and up.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7508177\/2026\/08\/12\/los-angeles-lakers-sale-mark-walter-bob-iger-joshua-kushner\/\">Los Angeles Lakers are in line to be sold at a $12.5 billion valuation<\/a> to former Disney CEO Bob Iger and Joshua Kushner \u2014 a deal that would set a North American pro sports record if Wednesday\u2019s announced agreement is approved by NBA owners.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad-container\">\n<div class=\"ad-wrapper article-treatment\">\n<div class=\"ad-slug-container\">\n<p class=\"ad-slug\">Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"mid1\" data-position=\"mid1\" class=\"ad place-ad\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>That it follows Mark Walter\u2019s $10 million purchase valuation for the very same team just 14 months earlier further cements the reality that major pro sports ownership is now the domain of billionaires and institutional investors.<\/p>\n<div data-ath-video-stream=\"88cbUtgKURO09HI\">\n<div class=\"VideoHost_Root__QeM_i\">\n<div class=\"VideoHost_VideoWidth__XjNKI VideoHost_Portrait__XBaJC\">\n<div class=\"VideoTitleFrame_Root__AGckL\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"VideoTitleFrame_Title__npf3B\">Everything we know about the Lakers being sold again<\/div>\n<div class=\"VideoTitleFrame_Authors__jxyYV\">Dan Woike<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"VideoTitleFrame_VideoWrapper__Xgp47\">{&#8220;@context&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/schema.org&#8221;,&#8221;@type&#8221;:&#8221;VideoObject&#8221;,&#8221;@id&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/video\/88cbUtgKURO09HI\/&#8221;,&#8221;url&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/video\/88cbUtgKURO09HI\/&#8221;,&#8221;name&#8221;:&#8221;Everything we know about the Lakers being sold again&#8221;,&#8221;description&#8221;:&#8221;Dan Woike gives us exclusive insight into how and why the Lakers were sold for the second time in two years, including why Mark Walter&#8217;s group agreed to sell the team to Bob Iger and Josh Kushner. &#8220;,&#8221;uploadDate&#8221;:&#8221;2026-08-12T19:43:12.466Z&#8221;,&#8221;duration&#8221;:&#8221;PT1M48S&#8221;,&#8221;thumbnailUrl&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/cdn-media.theathletic.com\/video-stream\/auto-thumbnail\/88cbUtgKURO09HI\/e7DyCqxhbG1x.0000000.jpg&#8221;,&#8221;contentUrl&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/video.nyt.com\/athletic\/streams\/88cbUtgKURO09HI\/e7DyCqxhbG1x\/e7DyCqxhbG1x.m3u8&#8243;,&#8221;transcript&#8221;:&#8221;The Lakers have been sold. No, this is not a video from last summer. This is a video from today, this summer, 2026, for the second time in 15 months, 14 months now, the team has changed hands. They moved from the Buss family to Mark Walter and now thanks to a $12.5 billion agreement. They will be moving from Mark Walter and the Guggenheim Group to Bob Iger and to Josh Kushner. This is very surprising news. People around the Lakers, people around the NBA did not see this coming. This deal apparently came together very quickly over the course of the weekend. Obviously there are investigations going on into Mark Walter&#8217;s finances. I am told at least, you know, at least from people close to the Walter Group that this had nothing to do with it, that this was an opportunity just to make some extra money, that it was a smart investment. Obviously a $2.5 billion increase in evaluation in 12 months is pretty remarkable. But obviously a lot of questions still to be asked, a lot of questions still to be answered. I think right now the major takeaway is that the Lakers are in flux, again, that this is an organization that had the stability of family ownership, which is not a word we would associate with the family ownership. It had certainly its share of drama with the Buss family, but at least we&#8217;re under the same roof. For more than 40 years and now in 18 months have changed hands twice. Obviously, the deal still needs to be approved by the NBA&#8217;s Board of Governors. A lot has to happen in terms of due diligence and finance because of the rapid nature that things are happening, but we&#8217;re going to tackle it all at the athletic, what it means for basketball, what it means for business, what it means for news and everything that&#8217;s going on with the investigations and different things like that. It&#8217;s never quiet around the Lakers and it wasn&#8217;t quiet this morning.&#8221;,&#8221;ineligibleRegion&#8221;:[&#8220;BI&#8221;,&#8221;BY&#8221;,&#8221;CD&#8221;,&#8221;CF&#8221;,&#8221;CU&#8221;,&#8221;IQ&#8221;,&#8221;IR&#8221;,&#8221;KP&#8221;,&#8221;LB&#8221;,&#8221;LY&#8221;,&#8221;ML&#8221;,&#8221;NI&#8221;,&#8221;RU&#8221;,&#8221;SD&#8221;,&#8221;SO&#8221;,&#8221;SS&#8221;,&#8221;SY&#8221;,&#8221;UA&#8221;,&#8221;VE&#8221;,&#8221;YE&#8221;,&#8221;ZW&#8221;],&#8221;publisher&#8221;:{&#8220;@type&#8221;:&#8221;NewsMediaOrganization&#8221;,&#8221;@id&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/#publisher&#8221;,&#8221;name&#8221;:&#8221;The Athletic&#8221;,&#8221;url&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/&#8221;,&#8221;foundingDate&#8221;:&#8221;2016-01-25&#8243;,&#8221;logo&#8221;:{&#8220;@type&#8221;:&#8221;ImageObject&#8221;,&#8221;@id&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/theathletic.com\/app\/themes\/athletic\/assets\/img\/the-athletic-wordmark-black.png&#8221;,&#8221;url&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/theathletic.com\/app\/themes\/athletic\/assets\/img\/the-athletic-wordmark-black.png&#8221;,&#8221;contentUrl&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/theathletic.com\/app\/themes\/athletic\/assets\/img\/the-athletic-wordmark-black.png&#8221;,&#8221;creditText&#8221;:&#8221;The Athletic&#8221;,&#8221;height&#8221;:&#8221;60&#8243;,&#8221;width&#8221;:&#8221;435&#8243;},&#8221;publishingPrinciples&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/edit-guidelines\/&#8221;,&#8221;sameAs&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Athletic&#8221;},&#8221;author&#8221;:[{&#8220;@type&#8221;:&#8221;Person&#8221;,&#8221;name&#8221;:&#8221;Dan Woike&#8221;}]}<\/p>\n<div class=\"AspectRatioBox_root__AKv5b\" style=\"aspect-ratio:9 \/ 16;max-height:min(100%)\">\n<div class=\"AspectRatioBox_inner__86C_2\" style=\"aspect-ratio:9 \/ 16\">\n<div class=\"VideoStreamPlayer_GridStack__2H0p2\"><video preload=\"metadata\"><\/video><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Lakers are a crown-jewel franchise, but teams across major North American sports leagues have been fetching jaw-dropping sale prices in recent years. Here\u2019s a list of the next 10 highest-valued transactions since 2022:<\/p>\n<p><strong>June 2025, Los Angeles Lakers:\u00a0<\/strong>Yes, the Lakers occupy the top two spots on this list. Wednesday\u2019s announced deal followed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/6436238\/2025\/06\/18\/lakers-sold-mark-walter-twg-jeanie-buss-family\/\">Walter\u2019s purchase of the team from the Buss family<\/a> at a $10 billion valuation in June 2025. Jerry Buss bought the Lakers for about $68 million from Jack Kent Cooke in 1979. Jerry Buss died in 2013, and the team was solely operated by his family until the sale to Walter.<\/p>\n<p><strong>July 2026, Seattle Seahawks: <\/strong>On the heels of their Super Bowl victory, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7439323\/2026\/07\/11\/seattle-seahawks-sale-vinod-khosla\/\">Seahawks were sold by the Paul Allen estate for $9.612 billion<\/a> to a group led by the Khosla family, which owns a minority interest in the San Francisco 49ers. Paul Allen bought the team for roughly $200 million in 1997, in part to ensure it stayed in Seattle after another prospective buyer expressed interest in moving the team to Anaheim, Calif.<\/p>\n<p id=\"article-pickem\">\n<p><strong>April 2025, Boston Celtics:\u00a0<\/strong>Here\u2019s how fast prices are rising: When Bill Chisholm, the managing partner of Symphony Technology Group, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/6218327\/2025\/03\/20\/celtics-franchise-sale-william-chisholm-highest-value-billion\/\">bought the Celtics for $6.1 billion<\/a> in the spring of 2025 from the Grousbeck family, it was the highest price ever paid for a North American sports franchise. The Lakers deal announced Wednesday is more than double that amount. The Grousbeck family bought the Celtics in 2002 for $360 million.<\/p>\n<p><strong>May 2023, Washington Commanders:<\/strong> A group led by Josh Harris, owner of the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/4514793\/2023\/05\/12\/washington-commanders-sale-agreement-josh-harris\/\">paid $6.05 billion to purchase the Commanders<\/a> from Daniel Snyder. Snyder bought the team in May 1999 for $800 million from the estate of the aforementioned Jack Kent Cooke, who, as noted above, also owned the Lakers at one point.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad-container\">\n<div class=\"ad-wrapper article-treatment\">\n<div class=\"ad-slug-container\">\n<p class=\"ad-slug\">Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"mid2\" data-position=\"mid2\" class=\"ad place-ad\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>August 2022, Denver Broncos: <\/strong>Th<span>e Walton-Penner group\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/3492528\/2022\/08\/09\/broncos-ownership-approved-rob-walton-penner-family-officially-begin-new-era\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">bought the Denver<\/a><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/3492528\/2022\/08\/09\/broncos-ownership-approved-rob-walton-penner-family-officially-begin-new-era\/\">\u00a0Broncos for $4.65 billion<\/a> from a trust that operated the team. Hall of Fame owner Pat Bowlen purchased the Denver franchise from Edgar Kaiser for $78 million in 1984. Bowlen, who passed away in 2019 due to complications of Alzheimer\u2019s disease, had officially relinquished day-to-day control of the organization to the trust six years earlier.<\/p>\n<p><strong>March 2026, Portland Trail Blazers<\/strong>: Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon threw his hat into the NBA ring with his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7129015\/2026\/03\/30\/trail-blazers-sold-tom-dundon-nba\/\">purchase of the Blazers from Paul Allen\u2019s estate at a $4.25 billion valuation<\/a>. Then came austerity measures from the notoriously frugal Dundon, who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7464330\/2026\/07\/22\/trail-blazers-tom-dundon-radio-tv-broadcast\/\">let go of the team\u2019s longtime broadcasters<\/a> this summer on top of several other cost-cutting moves. And now he\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7509237\/2026\/08\/12\/trail-blazers-portland-city-council-funding-approved\/\">engaged in an arena fight<\/a> with the city and county. Allen bought the team for $70 million in 1988.<\/p>\n<p><strong>February 2023, Phoenix Suns and Mercury:\u00a0<\/strong><span>Billionaire mortgage lender Mat Ishbia and his brother, Justin, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/4021773\/2022\/12\/20\/mat-ishbia-phoenix-suns-purchase\/\">purchased a majority stake<\/a> in the NBA\u2019s Phoenix Suns and WNBA\u2019s Phoenix Mercury in a deal that valued the franchise at $4 billion. The Ishbias purchased the team from Robert Sarver, who had been suspended from both teams for a year following the league\u2019s investigation into allegations that he fostered a hostile and toxic work environment. Sarver paid $401 million in 2004 for the Suns\/Mercury.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>August 2026, San Diego Padres:<\/strong> This one is not official quite yet. Major League Baseball owners are scheduled to vote Monday on the Padres\u2019 transfer of ownership to a group led by Jos\u00e9 E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones, <em>The Athletic<\/em> reported Tuesday. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7248886\/2026\/05\/02\/padres-ownership-transfer-jose-feliciano-kwanza-jones\/\">Feliciano and Jones agreed in May to buy the Padres<\/a> at a valuation of $3.9 billion, shattering MLB\u2019s previous sale record of $2.4 billion. The deal must be approved by 22 of 29 owners, who will conduct the vote by conference call. The Padres\u2019 current ownership group \u2014 which consists of at least 10 individuals or entities \u2014 bought the team for $800 million in 2012.<\/p>\n<div id=\"inline-graphic\">\n<p>        a.showcase-link-container {<br \/>\n  display: flex;<br \/>\n  gap: 20px;<br \/>\n  flex-direction: column;<br \/>\n  align-items: center;<br \/>\n  padding: 20px 0px;<br \/>\n  border-top: 1px solid rgba(150, 150, 147, 0.4);<br \/>\n  border-bottom: 1px solid rgba(150, 150, 147, 0.4);<br \/>\n  text-decoration: none;<br \/>\n  color: #121212;<br \/>\n  cursor: pointer;<\/p>\n<p>  .showcase-link {<br \/>\n    font-family: nyt-franklin;<br \/>\n    font-size: 14px;<br \/>\n    font-style: normal;<br \/>\n    font-weight: 700;<br \/>\n    line-height: 13.8px;<br \/>\n    letter-spacing: 1.1px;<br \/>\n    text-transform: uppercase;<br \/>\n  }<\/p>\n<p>  .showcase-link-image {<br \/>\n    border-radius: 8px;<br \/>\n    object-fit: cover;<br \/>\n    width: 200px;<br \/>\n    height: 150px;<br \/>\n    margin: 0px;<br \/>\n    @media (max-width: 600px) {<br \/>\n      width: 120px;<br \/>\n      height: 120px;<br \/>\n    }<br \/>\n  }<\/p>\n<p>  .showcase-link-inner-content {<br \/>\n    display: flex;<br \/>\n    flex-direction: row;<br \/>\n    gap: 16px;<br \/>\n    width: 100%;<br \/>\n  }<\/p>\n<p>  .showcase-link-text-content {<br \/>\n    display: flex;<br \/>\n    flex-direction: column;<br \/>\n    gap: 20px;<br \/>\n    justify-content: center;<br \/>\n    @media (max-width: 600px) {<br \/>\n      gap: 8px;<br \/>\n    }<br \/>\n  }<\/p>\n<p>  .showcase-link-title {<br \/>\n    font-family: nyt-cheltenham;<br \/>\n    font-size: 24px;<br \/>\n    font-style: normal;<br \/>\n    font-weight: 500;<br \/>\n    line-height: 120%; \/* 24px *\/<br \/>\n    letter-spacing: 0.01px;<br \/>\n    text-overflow: ellipsis;<br \/>\n    overflow: hidden;<br \/>\n    display: -webkit-box;<br \/>\n    -webkit-box-orient: vertical;<br \/>\n    -webkit-line-clamp: 3;<br \/>\n    @media (max-width: 600px) {<br \/>\n      font-size: 16px;<br \/>\n    }<br \/>\n  }<\/p>\n<p>  .showcase-link-excerpt {<br \/>\n    font-family: nyt-imperial;<br \/>\n    font-size: 16px;<br \/>\n    font-style: normal;<br \/>\n    font-weight: 400;<br \/>\n    line-height: 139%; \/* 19.46px *\/<br \/>\n    color: #323232;<br \/>\n    text-overflow: ellipsis;<br \/>\n    overflow: hidden;<br \/>\n    display: -webkit-box;<br \/>\n    -webkit-box-orient: vertical;<br \/>\n    -webkit-line-clamp: 4;<br \/>\n    @media (max-width: 600px) {<br \/>\n      font-size: 12px;<br \/>\n      line-height: 121%;<br \/>\n    }<br \/>\n  }<br \/>\n}<\/p>\n<p>.showcase-link-inputs {<br \/>\n  .showcase-link-input {<br \/>\n    width: 100%;<br \/>\n    font-size: 1rem;<br \/>\n    background-color: white;<br \/>\n    margin-bottom: 12px;<br \/>\n  }<\/p>\n<p>  .showcase-link-indent {<br \/>\n    margin-left: 25px;<br \/>\n  }<\/p>\n<p>  option {<br \/>\n    width: 100%;<br \/>\n  }<br \/>\n}<\/p>\n<p>@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {<br \/>\n  .native-mobile a.showcase-link-container {<br \/>\n    background-color: #121212;<br \/>\n    color: #f0f0ee;<br \/>\n    .showcase-link-excerpt {<br \/>\n      color: #c4c4c0;<br \/>\n    }<br \/>\n  }<br \/>\n}<\/p>\n<p>            \/\/ Remove all onclicks on imgs for apps to prevent image zoom on click<br \/>\n            document.querySelectorAll(&#8216;.showcase-link-image&#8217;).forEach((img) =&gt; img.removeAttribute(&#8216;onclick&#8217;));<\/p>\n<p>        <a id=\"showcase-link-7509071\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7509071\/2026\/08\/12\/lakers-sale-joshua-kushner-bob-iger-what-to-know\/\" class=\"showcase-link-container in-content-module-link testbed-shortcode\" data-shortcode-id=\"101\" data-shortcode-string=\"showcase-link\" data-content-id=\"7509071\" data-content-post-type=\"article\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"showcase-link\">What You Should Read Next<\/div>\n<div class=\"showcase-link-inner-content\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/athletic\/uploads\/wp\/2026\/08\/12160837\/GettyImages-2290205536-1024x690.jpg?width=400&amp;quality=70\" alt=\"What we know so far about Lakers\u2019 surprising sale to Joshua Kushner, Bob Iger\" class=\"showcase-link-image\" width=\"200\" height=\"200\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"showcase-link-text-content\">\n<div class=\"showcase-link-title\">\n                  What we know so far about Lakers\u2019 surprising sale to Joshua Kushner, Bob Iger\n              <\/div>\n<div class=\"showcase-link-excerpt\">\n                  The Lakers are being sold again. Why is Mark Walter selling, who are the new owners and what comes next?\n              <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>        <\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>December 2023, Dallas Mavericks:\u00a0 <\/strong>Mark Cuban <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/5097552\/2023\/11\/28\/mavericks-sale-mark-cuban-miriam-adelson\/\">sold a majority stake in the franchise<\/a> to Miriam Adelson and her family in a deal valued at $3.5 billion. Cuban bought the Mavericks in 2000 for $285 million, and for more than two decades he was as much the face of the Mavericks as any player, coach or executive. He has battled with the new owners over details of the transition. Cuban <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7508259\/2026\/08\/12\/mark-cuban-mavericks-petition-withdraw-arena\/\">withdrew a lawsuit<\/a> on Wednesday over the team\u2019s push to develop a new basketball arena.<\/p>\n<p><strong>July 2023, Charlotte Hornets:<\/strong> The Hornets <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/4714575\/2023\/07\/23\/nba-hornets-sale-michael-jordan\/\">were sold to a group led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall<\/a> in a deal valued at $3.0 billion. The sale ended Michael Jordan\u2019s 13-year tenure as the team\u2019s majority owner. Jordan paid $275 million in March 2010 for the franchise, which was then known as the Bobcats.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The price to own a piece of professional sports keeps going up \u2026 and up \u2026 and up. The Los Angeles Lakers are in line to be sold at a $12.5 billion valuation to former Disney CEO Bob Iger and Joshua Kushner \u2014 a deal that would set a North American pro sports record if [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,241],"class_list":["post-2090627","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nytimes-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2090627","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2090627"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2090627\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2090627"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2090627"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2090627"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}