Twelve years after Steve Ballmer bought the L.A. Clippers for an eye-popping (at the time) $2 billion, the other Los Angeles NBA team is going for $10.5 billion more.
Via Ramona Shelburne of ESPN, Bob Iger and Josh Kushner will purchase a controlling interest in the Lakers at a [record valuation of $12.5 billion](https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/49590362/josh-kushner-bob-iger-buy-lakers-12b), just 14 months after Mark Walter acquired the team at a valuation of $10 billion.
Iger and Kushner had previously expressed interest in acquiring an [NBA expansion franchise in Las Vegas](https://www.reviewjournal.com/sports/basketball/las-vegas-nba-expansion-process-loses-interested-party-as-iger-kushner-group-buys-lakers-3862740/?utm_campaign=widget&utm_medium=section_row&utm_source=homepage&utm_term=Las%20Vegas%20NBA%20expansion%20process%20loses%20interested%20party%20as%20Iger%2C%20Kushner%20group%20buys%20Lakers).
Walter, per Shelburne, is currently under federal investigation for tax fraud. It’s unclear whether that specific situation prompted him to flip the team so quickly.
The news comes just weeks after a group led by Vinod Khosla agreed to buy the Seahawks for $9.612 billion, shattering the prior record ($6.05 billion) for controlling interest in an NFL franchise. It’s surprising that a team in the lesser pro sports league would sell for nearly $3 billion more.
Yes, it’s the Lakers. Which invites speculation as to the price the Cowboys would fetch, if they were on the market. Would America’s Team go for $15 billion? $20 billion?
Regardless, the Lakers have now sold twice in less than a year and a half for a higher price than any NFL team has ever generated.