The Los Angeles Lakers are being sold to former Disney chief executive Bob Iger and venture capital founder Josh Kushner for $12.5 billion, a record price for a U.S. professional sports franchise and the second sale of the storied team in barely a year.
The agreement, described by a person familiar with the terms who spoke on condition of anonymity, transfers Mark Walter’s controlling stake in the NBA’s most valuable franchise. Neither side has publicly disclosed the specifics of the transaction.
Iger, who led Disney for more than a decade, and Kushner, the founder of investment firm Thrive Capital, had previously pursued an NBA expansion team for Las Vegas. Buying the Lakers spares them the wait: expansion, if the league approves it, could take place no earlier than the 2028-29 season.
The sale still requires approval from the NBA’s board of governors, a process that can take several weeks. The next board meeting is scheduled for next month in New York.
The price tag underscores how sharply NBA franchise values have climbed. Only three years ago, Michael Jordan sold his majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets at a $3 billion valuation. The Boston Celtics changed hands last year at a valuation of just over $6 billion, then a record.
Walter’s purchase of the controlling Lakers stake in June 2025 shattered that mark, coming at a $10 billion valuation — the highest ever at the time. He had originally acquired a 27% minority stake in the team in 2021, and NBA owners approved his takeover from the Buss family last October.
The escalation reflects a broader surge in the value of major sports assets, a trend that has drawn deep-pocketed investors and prompted questions about the long-term economics of team ownership. Some prominent operators have signalled they intend to keep their holdings private rather than pursue public listings, part of a wider debate over how large sports empires should be financed and governed.
For Iger and Kushner, control of the 17-time NBA champions offers immediate entry into one of the most recognisable brands in global sport, with a fan base and media footprint that extend well beyond Los Angeles.
If the board of governors signs off next month, the deal will mark the third time in a decade that the benchmark for the most expensive team sale in U.S. sports has been rewritten — and it may not stand for long.