Selling Showtime

The NBA’s purple-and-gold crown jewel is being sold again.

Former Disney CEO Bob Iger and venture capitalist Josh Kushner agreed on Wednesday to buy a majority stake in the Los Angeles Lakers for $12.5B, the highest valuation ever for a sports team. They’re buying it from Mark Walter, who acquired control of the Lakers for $10B just 10 months ago and also owns the LA Dodgers.

Walter’s business empire is under federal investigation over improper disclosures for billions in loans and was reportedly seeking cash to pay them off (the loans, not the feds…).

Six NBA teams have changed ownership in three years, with valuations going wayyyy up (be careful scaling this steep graph) as venture capitalists have begun to see professional franchises as assets “that cannot be replicated by technology.”

__

Verse to consider whether you’re in the market for an NBA franchise, saving for college, or wondering if you should put anything in the offering plate, “Don’t store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Matthew 6:19-21 (CSB) (read full passage)