Top 5 most expensive franchise sales in U.S. sports history ft. Lakers

The United States is home to a few of the biggest franchises in all of sports, including the iconic LA Lakers, who are arguably the biggest franchise in world basketball. On Wednesday, ESPN's Shams Charania reported that the Buss family sold their majority stake in the Lakers at a hefty $10 billion valuation.

After the news broke out, Trung Phan listed down the top five biggest sports franchise sales in the United States. The Lakers topped the list with the recent sale, which broke records across the country.

The Purple and Gold surpassed their Eastern Conference counterparts, the Boston Celtics, who previously held the first place on the list. Just three months ago, an investment group led by Bill Chisholm had purchased the Boston franchise for $6.1 billion.

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The Washington Commanders hold the third place on the list. The NFL franchise was sold off to an investment group led by Josh Harris for a staggering $6.05 billion in July 2023.

Fourth place belongs to the Denver Broncos, which saw an ownership change in June 2022 when the franchise was sold to the Walton-Penner family ownership group for $4.7 billion.

Lastly, the Phoenix Suns hold the fifth place on the list. The basketball franchise was sold off to Phoenix Mercury owner Mat Ishbia in February 2023 for $4 billion. As with any ownership change, the transition brought a new set of challenges for the players on the roster.

It will be interesting to see how the new owners approach the offseason and handle existing players, especially with the franchise's star player, LeBron James, who has a $52.6 million player option due on June 29.

Lakers legend Magic Johnson backs the iconic franchise's new owner

The Buss family sold the majority stake in the Lakers to Mark Walter, who is also the owner of the LA Dodgers. After the news of the sale, NBA legend Magic Johnson tweeted out his opinion of Walter. He backed up the Dodgers' owner and expressed excitement over the change.

"Laker fans should be estatic." Johnson wrote. "A few things I can tell you about Mark - he is driven by winning, excellence, and doing everything the right way. AND he will put in the resources needed to win!" "I can understand why Jeanie sold the team to Mark Walter because they are just alike - they are competitive people, have big hearts, love to give back, and both prefer to be behind the scenes. This makes all the sense in the world. I am so so SO happy and excited for @Lakers fans all over the world!!" Johnson added.

Magic Johnson has been with Mark Walter for over a decade now. He is a part of his investment group and was even involved in the Dodgers' purchase in 2012.

Edited by Alvin Amansec