Ranking Los Angeles Lakers and the Most Expensive Sports Teams Sales of All Time
On Wednesday afternoon, ESPN's Shams Charania broke unexpected news on a history-making deal.
"The Buss family is entering an agreement to sell majority ownership of the Los Angeles Lakers to Mark Walter, the CEO and chairman of diversified holding company TWG Global," Charania wrote. "Jeanie Buss will continue to serve in her role as Governor after the sale."
He later added that the franchise was sold at a valuation of $10 billion.
If that sounds like a lot, that's because it is. The previous high for a professional sports franchise was the $6.1 billion valuation that the Boston Celtics sold for earlier this year.
This Lakers deal completely changes the landscape of sports ownership and blows away the rest of the list for the most expensive teams ever sold.
10. Carolina Panthers ($2.275 Billion in 2018)
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Fresh off a 2017 campaign in which the Carolina Panthers went 11-5 and just over two years after Cam Newton won league MVP, David Tepper acquired the Carolina Panthers for a then-record $2.275 billion.
But maintaining that level of play is difficult in the NFL.
Despite having Newton in his prime and drafting star running back Christian McCaffrey ahead of the 2017 season, the Panthers are tied for the NFL's worst winning percentage during Tepper's time as owner.
9. New York Mets ($2.4 Billion in 2020)
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Just over two years after Tepper acquired the Panthers, Steve Cohen broke the record with his $2.4 billion purchase of the New York Mets.
In a league without a salary cap, the owner (and his or her willingness to spend) can make a massive, immediate difference.
In 2021, the Mets signed Max Scherzer to a three-year, $130 million deal and signed Francisco Lindor to a 10-year, $341 million contract. In 2022, New York added Justin Verlander for $86.7 million over two years. And this past winter, the Mets signed Juan Soto to an eye-popping 15-year, $765 million deal.
Given how much he's committed to his team, Cohen's $2.4 billion purchase price is starting to look like a mere initial investment in hindsight.
8. Charlotte Hornets ($3 Billion in 2023)
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You're about to witness a bit of a trend from here on out. NBA owners have had a knack for breaking this particular record in recent years, starting with Michael Jordan two years ago.
In 2023, Air Jordan sold the Charlotte Hornets to a group led by Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin at a $3 billion valuation. That price tag was surprising given the team's lack of success under MJ.
During Jordan's decade and change at the helm, Charlotte had the second-worst record in the NBA, but that didn't scare Schnall and Plotkin from buying the team. After all, rising franchise valuations and the NBA's upcoming 11-year, $75 billion national TV deals suggest the league is still on the way up.
7. Dallas Mavericks ($3.5 Billion in 2023)
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In one of the most shocking ownership moves we've ever seen, Mark Cuban agreed to sell the majority share of his beloved Dallas Mavericks to the Adelson and Dumont families for $3.5 billion in 2023.
The peculiarity here, beyond the team's biggest fan selling just before the new media rights deal kicks in, was that reporting at the time suggested Cuban would maintain some level of control over basketball operations.
That obviously didn't happen, as most vividly evidenced by the jaw-dropping Luka Dončić trade that saw the Mavericks surrender years of title contention and a perennial MVP candidate for a post-prime and near-constant injury risk in Anthony Davis.
6. Phoenix Suns/Phoenix Mercury ($4 Billion in 2023)
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Just over two years after Mat Ishbia acquired the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury for $4 billion in 2023, he already has an airtight case for one of the best examples of "new owner syndrome" that we've ever seen.
The Suns went to the NBA Finals in 2021, but the only player left from that roster is Devin Booker. Within months of taking over, Ishbia gave up much of his organization's future for Kevin Durant, who's now likely to be traded again this summer.
Despite already being nearly all-in, he somehow found more chips to take on one of the worst contracts in the league in 2023 and added Bradley Beal.
Phoenix went 64-18 the last full season before Ishbia took over. In 2024-25, the Suns were 36-46. And now, he's claiming he wants to be even more involved in basketball decisions.
It's hard to imagine things getting much wilder for Suns fans, but Ishbia has already proven capable of shocking moves.
5. Denver Broncos ($4.65 Billion in 2022)
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Following a years-long battle over ownership after Pat Bowlen's death in 2019, the Denver Broncos were finally sold to an ownership group led by Walmart's Rob Walton in 2022 for $4.65 billion.
The price didn't just break the record previously held by David Tepper's Carolina Panthers. It doubled it. And in this case, it was easier to understand how the number got so high.
The Broncos haven't been Super Bowl contenders for a decade, but for nearly 40 years (from 1976 through 2015), they had the best winning percentage in the NFL. They won three Super Bowls with star quarterbacks John Elway and Peyton Manning under center.
They haven't yet been able to recapture the luster of that era under Walton, but Denver is one of the marquee franchises of a league that generates several billion dollars in revenue every year.
4. Chelsea FC ($5.4 Billion in 2022)
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During a nearly two-decade run under Roman Abramovich, Chelsea F.C. was one of the most successful clubs in international football, winning several trophies and generally hovering at or near the top of the Premier League.
But in 2022, thanks in part to sanctions imposed on the team for alleged connections to Russia's Vladimir Putin, Chelsea was sold to a group led by Todd Boehly, an American businessman who's also a part-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
After having a positive goal differential in 27 straight domestic campaigns, Chelsea dropped below zero during the first season under Boehly, but that appears to have just been a one-year hiccup. It was plus-14 in 2023-24 and plus-21 in 2024-25.
3. Washington Commanders ($6.05 Billion in 2023)
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After 20-plus years of Dan Snyder's controversial ownership, a group led by Josh Harris, who co-owns the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils, purchased the Washington Commanders for a record $6.05 billion in 2023.
That investment started to look like a solid one shortly after they made it.
The Commanders went 4-13 during their first season under the new ownership group, but that resulted in them getting the No. 2 overall pick, which they used on LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels. He subsequently led Washington all the way to the NFC Championship Game as a rookie.
2. Boston Celtics ($6.1 Billion in 2025)
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Fresh off a 2024 NBA championship and with his title-winning roster almost entirely locked up through 2025-26, Wyc Grousbeck sold his majority ownership stake in the Boston Celtics earlier this year.
The move came as a bit of a surprise, though even with the league's upcoming 11-year, $75 billion media rights deal, it may have felt nearly impossible to pass up the $6.1 billion offer from the group led by Bill Chisholm.
Unfortunately for the new stewards, franchise cornerstone Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles mere months after the deal, but that won't derail one of the league's best and most famous franchises.
Under Chisholm, the Celtics will almost certainly remain one of the NBA's most consistent organizations.
1. Los Angeles Lakers ($10 Billion in 2025)
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That brings us to Mark Walter's record-shattering purchase of the Lakers. This deal obliterates the price tags of all of the above, but it somehow still feels well worth it.
The NBA is headed into a massive new media rights deal. All of the recent team sales suggest franchise valuations are skyrocketing.
On top of having the face of the league of the last two decades in LeBron James, L.A. is less than a year removed from being on the right side of perhaps the biggest coup in NBA history.
The Lakers didn't just trade for Luka Dončić in February. They got him just ahead of his 26th birthday, for a price that was comically below his true value. That means they still have assets to spend and build around Luka.
Under Walter, the Lakers very well could be legitimate title contenders in 2026. And given Dončić's age and production, they figure to remain in that picture for years to come.
