The Beginning of the End

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A couple of weeks ago, Albert Breer was on a radio station and said something a lot of us have been thinking—at least around the edges. He said (we’re paraphrasing) that owners ridicule other owners more about the business side than about losing games.

You see evidence of this in flashes: little reports here and there about “mom and pop” operations or failing to capitalize on naming rights. Sometimes it’s as specific as a team not using certain sports analytics software that most franchises do—like Zach Lowe claimed about the Lakers on a podcast recently.

For brevity’s sake, let’s call these “legacy owners.”

There are only a handful of them left. Many are taking advantage of the current landscape and cashing out. One of the most prominent just sold a majority stake in their team at a $10 billion valuation.

Yes—the Buss family is (partially) cashing out, selling the Lakers to Mark Walter, principal owner of the Dodgers and CEO of Guggenheim Partners. If you were paying attention a while back, you might’ve seen this coming.

The deal was finalized last week, but the seed was planted in 2021, when Walter bought a 26% stake in the Lakers and secured the first right of refusal to become majority owner. That suggests the Buss family was already thinking about an exit even then.

And before we go any further—if you’ve got some gripe about how Jeanie and her siblings ran this team, fine. But understand this: they sold at exactly the right time. That takes guts. Timing something like this—especially in the world of sports franchises—is brutally difficult.

So let’s get into it:

What caused the Lakers to sell? And why is the timing perfect?

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3 Main Reasons:

1. It was time.

The Buss family isn’t independently wealthy. The Lakers are their asset. They don’t have the same resources as other ownership groups to run a best-in-class operation. This isn’t about competence—it’s about capital.

2. The new media rights deal.

The NBA’s next media rights deal kicks in next year: 11 years, $75 billion. That’s nearly triple the previous deal. Add in the expected windfall from expansion fees, and any rational owner would be tempted to cash out.

3. The Celtics (wait, what?).

The Celtics just reset the market with their $6 billion valuation. That turned heads. If I’m the Buss family—or James Dolan—I’m thinking, “If the Celtics are worth $6B, why shouldn’t I fetch $10B?”

What happens next?

A few things. The deal needs final approval. It’ll go through. No way it hits a snag—every NBA owner wants it done. Rising tides, lifted boats, etc.

The league will almost certainly factor the Lakers sale into the expansion fee math. John Henry must be pissed. It’s an open secret FSG wants an expansion team, and this deal just raised the price.

Other owners may now consider selling. Not the Matt Ishbias of the world—we’re talking about legacy owners like James Dolan. This pre-new-media-rights climate is so frothy, you’d be crazy not to at least test the market.

Who might sell?

Let’s break it down:

💎 Cornerstone franchises

🧩 Teams that haven’t made it work

Enter: the Knicks and the Pelicans.

Knicks

The Knicks would fetch a record-breaking price—likely $10.1 billion or more. Why 10.1? Because the Lakers sold at 10. Dolan has said he’d never sell. But if someone put that number in front of you, would you really say no?

Pelicans

This just hasn’t worked. Zion is heading into year 6.

If Gayle Benson sold, it’d be a 10x return on the original investment. The Pelicans would likely go for $3 billion or more.

Whether these things happen, we don’t know. But keep in mind that this may be the best time to sell a NBA franchise for legacy owners. Now, we don’t think prices will go down anytime soon, but there seem to be more than enough willing buyers at this point in time who see the promise of the NBA, its new media rights deal, and its further potential for growth.

Even though James Dolan says he’ll never sell, and that there’s some speculation that he may try to block league expansion, waving a check for 15 billion dollars just might make someone change their mind.

Have a great week!