Bob Iger to buy Lakers just one year after sale

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, August 12, 2026

The Los Angeles Lakers are being sold.

Again.

Only 14 months after agreeing to purchase the Lakers at a record-setting $10 billion valuation, Mark Walter is selling the team to Bob Iger, the former Disney CEO, and Joshua Kushner. The deal would value the Lakers at $12.5 billion, according to a source with knowledge of the sale who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it publicly. Kushner has a minority stake in the Miami Heat and is the younger brother of Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law.

The deal is a stunning development for one of the NBA’s marquee franchises, which was owned by Jerry Buss or his children for more than four decades before Walter’s short-lived stewardship.

“As lifelong NBA fans, we are deeply honored for the opportunity to become stewards of the Los Angeles Lakers, one of the most iconic sports franchises in the world,” Iger and Kushner said in a statement. “We have immense respect for the leadership and vision of Jerry and Jeanie Buss. Our long-term commitment is to build on that foundation, compete at the highest level, and serve this extraordinary team, its fans, and the city of Los Angeles.”

ESPN first reported the sale agreement Wednesday morning.

The Lakers’ $10 billion valuation in the 2025 sale was the most expensive in professional sports history. If Kushner and Iger’s purchase is approved by the league, it would set a new record a little more than a year later.

For context, a private equity deal completed by the New York Yankees this week valued the MLB franchise at approximately $10 billion. Among NFL teams, only the Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Rams were valued higher than $12.5 billion in a report released by Sportico this week, but those valuations are only estimates.

For Iger, 75, the purchase of the Lakers is a resounding answer to questions about what his public life after Disney would look like. Iger was succeeded by Josh D’Amaro as the company’s CEO in March. He remains a senior adviser and a board member, though those roles are set to end when his contract expires at the end of the year.

He served two stints as Disney’s CEO, the first from 2005 to 2020. After handing the reins to Bob Chapek, Iger remained with the company and returned to the CEO position when Chapek was fired in November 2022. During Iger’s first run as CEO, Disney bought Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm and the majority of 21st Century Fox. Iger also oversaw ESPN, though he left the day-to-day management of the company to other executives.

The Lakers are not Iger’s first investment in professional sports. In the summer of 2024, Iger and his wife, Willow Bay, dean of the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, acquired a controlling stake in Angel City FC in a deal that valued the NWSL club at $250 million, which at the time was the highest valuation ever for a women’s professional sports team.

The Lakers sale, which has not been finalized, has to be approved by the NBA’s board of governors.

“Being a Laker means everything to me, and I’m excited to get back on the court and bring a championship to LA,” Lakers star Luka Dončić wrote on social media. “I’ve gotten used to big changes over these last few years, but I know that no matter what, there is no limit to the potential of this iconic franchise. I look forward to meeting Josh and Bob so we can get to work building something special in LA together.”

Kushner, who previously owned a minority share of the Memphis Grizzlies, is a central figure in the ongoing global soccer controversy around FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s plan to sell a stake in FIFA’s competitions to private investors, including Kushner’s Thrive Eternal, for $4.2 billion. The plan imploded, but UEFA sent a letter dated July 31 to Kushner stating it is considering legal action, arbitration and/or regulatory complaints in connection with the proposals. The European soccer governing body demanded that all documents related to the plans not be destroyed.

Walter, the majority owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, called owning the Lakers “one of the great honors” of his life and an “extraordinary investment.” He has no plans to sell the Dodgers as well, according to a source with knowledge of the negotiations who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

Walter is also the majority owner of the Los Angeles Sparks, but the Sparks are not part of the Lakers sale, according to a source with knowledge of the deal who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss details.

“What I will carry with me is the community, the fans, and a city that treats this team as a family,” Walter said in a statement. “I am grateful to Jeanie Buss, the Buss family, the players, and the staff for welcoming me into this chapter. The Lakers belong to Los Angeles, and I have every confidence the best is still ahead.”

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and the Securities and Exchange Commission have been investigating insurance companies owned by Walter. According to the Wall Street Journal, federal investigators took interest in Walter’s companies last year after an internal whistleblower complaint about how Walter’s asset-management firm, Guggenheim Investments, booked revenue it received from the insurance companies.