Heavy! The Lakers sold the team! $10 billion! The era that belonged to Bath was officially over

It's really big news, today, the Bass family agreed to sell a majority stake in the Los Angeles Lakers at a valuation of $10 billion! ESPN reports that the Buss family is striking an agreement to sell a majority stake in the Lakers to Mark Walter, CEO and chairman of diversified holding company TWG Global.

In 1979, Jerry Buss bought the Lakers from Jack Kent Cook for $67.5 million, and after his death in 2013, ownership of the team passed to his children. Now, the iconic 17-time champion is striking an agreement to sell a majority stake. In 1979, it was bought for 67.5 million, and now it is sold for 10 billion, which has increased 37 times!

Mark Walter has been a minority shareholder in the Lakers since 2021 and also has stakes in several professional sports organizations, including the MLB Los Angeles Dodgers, the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks, the Billie Jane Cup, the Cadillac Formula 1 Team, and the Women's Pro Hockey League.

The deal is worth $10 billion! Mark Walter will buy a majority stake in the Lakers from the Buss family at a valuation of about $10 billion, the largest sale ever made by a global professional sports team.

The Buss family is no longer the big boss of the Lakers, so to speak, the Buss era is over. After the death of the elder Bass, each of the six Bath children owned 11% of the shares, which together they owned66% Lakers stake. TodayAfter the sale, the Bass family will have only15% or so.However, after the sale of a significant stake, Jeanie Buss will continue to serve as the team's honorary chairman.

Jeanie Buss will not only continue to serve as president of the Lakers, but will also remain at the helm of the team for at least the next few years. In other words, part of the agreement is to guarantee that Jeanie Bass will remain at the helm of the team for the foreseeable future, and Mark Walter fully supports that plan. Lakers reporter Anthony F. Irwin revealed that Jenny stayed on for several years, in part to get the staff she hired to fulfill their contracts. It's also a conscience.

The Buss family is also a high-selling sell-off, and before the trade deadline this year, the Lakers traded Doncic, which increased the team's market value. Now that the team has been sold, looking back, it can be considered that they knew why they tried their best to bring in the team's new face Doncic.

ESPN reporter Dave McMenamin said the Buss family's sale of the Lakers would not have an impact on James' decision. James has a $52.6 million player option for next season, and he needs to decide whether to exercise it before the June 29 deadline.

The new owner of the Lakers, Mark Walter, is willing to spend money, and he has stakes in several professional sports teams, including the local MLB Dodgers in Los Angeles. In December 2023, Mark Walter offered Shohei Ohtani a 10-year contract worth $700 million, the highest contract in the history of world sports.

Magic Johnson tweeted: "Lakers fans should be ecstatic. I can tell you a couple of things about Mark Walter – he goes for winning, he strives for excellence, and he does everything the right way. And he will invest the resources he needs to win! I can understand why Jenny sold the team to Mark because they're a lot like each other – they're both competitive people, big hearts, willing to give back and both love to work behind the scenes. It makes perfect sense. I'm so happy and excited for the fans all over the world! ”

An anonymous person with ties to the Lakers said: "I'm really excited that the Lakers now have the ability to spend the money they should. ”

John Ireland, a commentator on the Lakers' official television station, said: "This could take the Lakers to new heights, and the Lakers will never be behind anyone else in terms of input again. ”

So next, the Lakers are going to spend a lot of money to bring in players?