$1 billion La Lakers Sales Prove Sports Billionaire Over | Los Angeles Lakers

this Los Angeles Lakers for sale It’s a lot of things.

First, this is a record. The most dazzling team in basketball switched hands at a valuation of $10 billion, the largest sports franchise ever. Second, even at that surprising valuation, it could be a good deal for buyers. Third, a majority-equity transition from the bus family to the investment group led by Los Angeles Dodgers owner Mark Walter is inevitable.

Sports teams are shocking asset classes. For decades, having a social status that gives countless allowances and most money can’t even buy, and has been in a steep state of excitement for decades. Lakers’ sales represent a new peak and the latest data point that illustrates new facts about sports ownership. For someone like Jenny Bus, the best property has become too valuable asset classes to control them.

The bus’s father Jerry bought the team in 1979, and since then, the Lakers operate like one of the world’s largest family businesses. The Lakers are by far the biggest source of wealth for the Bus family. As ESPN reported on Thursdayteams have traditionally used their own income to pay for it. Its Golden Goose is a huge local TV deal with Spectrum, a Los Angeles cable provider.

However, the cable bundle is dying, and today the largest sports teams are increasingly owned not by wealthy individuals and families, but by consortiums of freight investors and institutions. The Lakers have moved in this direction. The Bus Family sold a quarter of the team to a group led by Walter in 2021. The same group served as host with Walter, but by no means did it alone – controlling the Dodgers in 2012 and later bought control of the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks.

Blue chip sports properties are too big now that even most billionaires cannot get into their pockets alone. As a result, the league has gradually made it easier for institutional investors to buy shares in the team. (NFL, limited, The door to private equity has been opened. .

The Lakers’ new owner may have done a good job of investing. The decline of cables is a major threat to professional sports teams, and as regional operators disappear, some smaller market clubs in the NBA, NHL and Major League Baseball have gained substantial cash flow. But the Lakers are so entangled with one of the world’s largest cities that they bet on their continued growth to resist the popularity of basketball, the city of Los Angeles and live entertainment. Angelenos won’t stop buying tickets to the Lakers, and more importantly, whether they do this on streamers or traditional TV, they won’t happily pay to watch 82 games each year. The Lakers were too big to fail, and for a while, someone valued it more than $10 billion.

The deal could be beneficial for Lakers fans, although they are not a priority in any trade of this type. Walter’s group worked wonders with the Dodgers, capturing the team’s natural strengths – a fanatical fan base and a position player wants to play – and turning the team into the most stable champion in baseball. Playing financial advantages in the NBA is harder than MLBs with no salary and no caps, but Walter’s Dodgers have become a team Enjoy the best reputation among players. It’s not that the Lakers have a hard time attracting stars, but that they can be imagined that they attract more players. Ultimately, isn’t that kind of product that fans want to see?

While this may all be good for the Lakers, the shift in ownership model has indeed raised questions about what the sports team will become No Resisting the existence of gravity. Many individual club owners are huge losers who have won endless ridicule from club fans. But the fact that one has a highly visible particular owner at least exaggerates accountability. After all, Manchester United fans are more likely to shout “Glazers Out!” than to shout “Shame consortium of institutional investors!” A step towards a large swath of investors who control the iconic team will make it easier for individual actors to milk their cash without having to face the long-standing public humiliation of a team with a more recognizable tiny team in the owner’s suite. The Lakers are big enough to be successful enough that this dynamic may never surface. Most teams can’t say the same thing.