According to an interview with NBA expert Mark Medina, the following 3 points summarise the key themes and facts about the landmark sale of the LA Lakers:
- Landmark Sale and Valuation:
The Los Angeles Lakers have been sold in a record-breaking deal valued at $10 billion to Mark Walter, co-owner of Chelsea FC and the majority ownership group of the LA Dodgers. This deal smashes an American record for a sports franchise.
Quote: “The Los Angeles Lakers have broken the record and sold for a US record $10 billion after a bargain with bus family to Walter Mark, who has a majority interest in the LA Dodgers as well as being a Chelsea co-owner.”
- Shift in Bus Family Ownership:
The sale marks a major break for the Bus family as custodian of the Lakers. Jeannie Bus, up until 2015, would say in her Father’s will that “this franchise will be with us forever, always will.” But market situations and opportunities have caused this change now.
Quote: “I remember talking to Jeannie Bus in her office several years ago and asking that very question on if the bus family would ever sell, and she would often say that uh her father worked very hard to make it to this point so that the bus family could keep the franchise forever.”
Acquired for $67.5 million in 1979 by the Bus family, the franchise has generated a very good and cool profit in real terms when religion was used to legitimize these transactions through buying Forum, Kings Hockey Club and real estate along with buy-down on tax paying media assets like monkeys wearing overalls who were still not making enough to feed their troops as blue-collar workers prancing on their lunch break through the wagon-peacock abyss of American capitalism without a parachute
Important Note: Whilst the Bus family has not sold off all of the Lakers, enough to form a majority share has been sold. Nevertheless, they have retained minority investment. - Factors Driving the Sale and Skyrocketing Valuations:
Over the Bus Family’s Sale, as well as an overall increase in NBA franchise worth, several factors are responsible:
First Attitude: After the new owner Philip Anush disposed of his stake in Porridge Enterprises to coach Walter during 2021, it revealed a trend towards fresh hands.
Vast NBA Franchise Worth: Recent trades of the LA Clippers, Dallas Mavericks, and Boston Celtics have seen franchise valuations jump exponentially across the league.
Strategic Player Acquisition: The Lakers saw their value receive an “extraordinary bump” after taking on Luca Donuch. This in particular highlights how much difference star players can make to a franchise’s share.
Tempting Financial Opportunity: Medina provides the thin, clean news that “it’s a great deal that you just can’t pass up because money is very good.”
- Fan Response and Expectations with a New Landlord:
The sale has produced a large cheer from fans and is expected to be greeted warmly. Relentless Purists:
Success in Walter Fans know Walter’s involvement with the Dodgers, and that he exactly epitomises that organisation, spending is good spending.
Expectations of Better Investment: The Bus family, though they were zealous in their quest to win, had a limited capacity. They cited Lakers football as being “our only source of revenue.” They were “exceedingly careful when it came to the roles of, and coaching staff, front office staff, field staff.”
Quote: “I think the expectation with Mark Walter is that he’s uh not gonna leave any costs out.” It’s consistent with the theme that “today’s ownership groups must be prepared to be paying a lot more money than they have until the year 2025.”
- How can Sports Franchise Valuations be in the Future?
Medina expects that the value of sports arrangements will keep climbing throughout this century, although he doesn’t know the pace or when an end will come for such brisk price rises.
Lakers (a) To become an Icon: The Lakers are widely known as “the NBA’s most iconic franchise”. Nonetheless, even larger valuations can be reaped if teams like the New York Knicks and Golden State Warriors could be disposed of with an attached arena-complete.
Professional Sports market around the world: The reason for increasing valuations lies beneath that said esoteric “professional sports is a profitable commodity.” From a purely financial standpoint, it pulls in extremely rich and intelligent owners who are out to make their investments pay off handsomely.
Look At It In Terms Of Media Rights: The new NBA media rights contract will be worth $75 billion over 11 years, confirming not only the vast revenue streams that prop up professional franchises but also (although it is too soon to estimate accurately) an actual marketplace for franchises’ value.
Comparison with European Football: While the English Premier League (Forbes’ Manchester United values it at around $6.5 billion, Liverpool FC $5 billion) also has some worth, current signs signal immense potential value for domestic sports in America–not least owing to ownership of all marquee names themselves by no one but Americans who can see this as an investment.