Lakers set a record for changing hands with 10 billion yuan: Dodge boss Walter creates a new era of Los Angeles sports empire

According to TA's exclusive disclosure, the Los Angeles Lakers are about to usher in a historic change of ownership - the Booth family has reached a principled agreement with financial tycoon Mark Walter to sell the NBA legendary team at a valuation of $10 billion. If the deal is finally finalized, the valuation may rise to $12 billion, breaking the Boston Celtics' $6.1 billion sports team sales record. This transaction not only marks the end of the 44-year ownership of the Booth family, but also opens a new era of Los Angeles Sports where the Lakers and the Dodgers belong to the same boss.

The shock of this deal lies in the speed of valuation soaring: when Jerry Booth bought the Lakers from Jack Kent Cook for $68 million in 1979, he also won the Los Angeles Kings and Forum Arena; when Mark Walter first bought a 27% stake in the Lakers in 2021, the team's valuation was about $5 billion. Now the valuation has doubled in four years, highlighting the asset appreciation myth of top NBA teams. In comparison, when the Celtics sold for $6.1 billion in March 2024, it had already set a record at that time, and the Lakers' transaction directly increased the threshold by nearly doubled, confirming the money-making potential of the "City of Angels" sports IP.

league sources revealed that 63-year-old Jenny Booth will continue to serve as the team owner after the deal is completed, echoing her journey to regain control from a family legal dispute in 2017. Since the Lakers won the first championship during Jerry Booth's tenure in 1980, this team has reshaped the NBA business territory with stars such as Jabbar and Magic Johnson during the "performance moment". The successive joining of Kobe, O'Neal and James have made the Lakers one of the world's highest market value sports brands. The dual cores formed by 40-year-old James and 26-year-old Doncic are the direct driving force for the surge in valuation - especially Doncic has just obtained a $229 million contract renewal, and the Lakers have always been willing to invest in maximum-paid players.

65-year-old Walter manages $325 billion in assets as CEO of global financial giant Guggenheim Partners, but what really makes the sports world famous is his team's operational skills. In 2012, he defeated Steve Cohen for $2 billion, bought the Dodgers from Frank McCourt on the brink of bankruptcy, and then invested millions of dollars to renovate the Dodger Stadium and rebuild the lineup. The team not only won the World Series championship twice, but also became one of the most successful teams in MLB operation. In 2023, the signing of Shohei Otani's 10-year $700 million contract, as well as nearly $500 million in salary + luxury tax investment in 2025, demonstrates his "competition for the championship at all costs" style - this model fits the Lakers' tradition of "superstar-driven".

Walter's sports investment map has long surpassed baseball: he bought shares in the WNBA Los Angeles Sparks in 2014, owned a professional women's hockey league, and even participated in motorsports. When he joined forces with Todd Boley to acquire Lakers shares in 2021, he had laid the foreshadowing of the full acquisition; when he joined the BlueCo team to acquire Chelsea Football Club in 2022, it demonstrated his cross-project operation capabilities. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts commented: "He will invest resources to build the championship lineup every year like building the Dodgers." This commitment is crucial to Lakers fans - although the team has never stingy with maximum salary in history, the Dodgers' "unlimited salary" model under Walter's rule may completely get rid of the Lakers from "luxury tax hesitation." The deep significance of

transactions lies in the iteration of sports business logic. The Lakers in the Booth family era rely on the "superstar effect + championship honor" to maintain brand value; and Walter may transplant the Dodgers' operating experience: for example, the "international superstars pull overseas markets" strategy proved by Shohei Otani case - after the Lakers sign Doncic, they need to expand the European market, and Walter's team's commercial development experience in Japan and South Korea will be directly empowered. More importantly, the change in salary structure: the Dodgers are expected to invest $500 million in salary + luxury tax in 2025. This "high investment-high return" model may completely let the Lakers get rid of the concerns of "salary flexibility" and strive for the championship for James and Doncic in his later years.

Magic Johnson's cheer on social media is quite symbolic: "Mark aims to win as his only goal, and he will invest all resources." These words echo James' attitude - although his 22-year career is approaching, he is still satisfied with the deal, and Doncic's contract renewal negotiations will be the first test of the Walter era. It is worth noting that Walter's acquisition includes the "priority negotiation rights" obtained in 2021, which means that the Booth family has set a buffer for team stability in the equity transition. When Jenny Booth and Walter, two managers who also pursue excellence, complete the handover, the Lakers are about to start the transformation from a "basketball legend" to a "sports business empire".

The aftermath of this deal will affect the entire NBA: the $10 billion valuation not only redefines the value ceiling of sports teams, but also heralds the arrival of the "super team" era - when the Dodgers share the same boss with the Lakers, the resource integration of the Los Angeles sports market may give rise to unprecedented commercial synergy. For other teams, the valuation benchmark set by the Lakers' transaction will force teams to reevaluate their asset value. A capital competition around sports IP may have just begun.