Sports world stunned by Buss family’s plan to sell Lakers

The Lakers’ pending sale to Dodgers owner Mark Walter is still causing ripples in SoCal this morning, with it being called the “best thing to happen to the Southland’s sports landscape since, well, the last time Walter’s TWG Global group bought something this big.” If the Dodgers are any indication, the Lakers are “in for the sort of massive facelift that would make even a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon blush” (L.A. TIMES, 6/18).

The Lakers were “the family business, which is why this also feels somewhat predictable.” The franchise valuations and operating costs are “through the roof, which means you better have your own capital outside of the NBA” (YAHOO SPORTS, 6/18). This “lavish sale comes with the knowledge that the buyers have exponentially more resources than the Buss family — and Walter has showed he knows how to spend it intelligently.” The new ownership group’s wealth could “knock down some financial barriers in the restrictive, apron era of salary cap management” (AP, 6/19).

Reaction to the pending sale poured in on social media:

* Basketball HOFer Magic Johnson: “Job well done to my sister Jeanie Buss for striking an incredible deal and picking the right person to carry on the @Lakers legacy and tradition of winning – Mark Walter, my business partner and friend! Mark Walter is the best choice and will be the best caretaker of the Laker brand.”

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Mark Walter’s pending $10B purchase of the Lakers was an offer that controlling owner Jeanie Buss could not refuse at a time the Buss family had prioritized estate planning and had begun to contemplate a sale, sources said Wednesday.

“I believe it’s a good day for the family, and (Dr. Jerry Buss) is smiling down from heaven,” said a source close to the franchise, confirming that the Buss family will retain roughly 15% of the team.

The late Jerry Buss purchased the Lakers in 1979 — along with the NHL’s Kings and the Forum — for $67.5M, but the latest deal does not include Crypto.com Arena, which sources said makes the sale price even more staggering. In 2021, Walter, (CEO and chairman of TWG Global) and his associate, Todd Boehly, purchased a 27% stake in the Lakers from Phil Anschutz, along with the right of first negotiation for a majority investment. “I believe that was common knowledge he would exercise that,” a source said of Walter.

The sense at that time was that the Buss Family Trust –which still owned 66% of the team –would eventually sell the franchise, and Walter’s $10B offer simply expedited matters. The deal would far exceed the pending sale of the Celtics for $6.1B to Bill Chisholm. Unlike the Celtics, the Lakers have an enormous, long-term local TV deal that is guaranteed through 2032 and is the envy of every NBA franchise.

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Representatives from the new-look Pac-12 are heading to Capitol Hill next week to meet with lawmakers, sources tell SBJ.

The group is slated to include Commissioner Teresa Gould, along with presidents and ADs from member institutions, among others.

The trip is being conducted in conjunction with Cassidy & Associates, the third-party government relations firm that’s consulting for the conference.

The Pac-12 reps are expected to meet with representatives from the House and Senate, including regional representatives specific to the respective universities taking the trip.

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The Dodgers today will announce their “plans to assist the immigrant communities recently impacted” in L.A., marking the team’s “first public comment regarding the recent unrest in the city.” The Dodgers’ silence “had become divisive among parts of their fan base, leading to increased calls on social media in recent days for the team to address what was happening around the city.” To this point, the only other local professional sports teams to issue public statements in the wake of the raids have been LAFC and Angel City FC (L.A. TIMES, 6/18).

RELATED: LAFC fans stage protest of ICE during match

FIFA “displayed anti-racism and discrimination messaging at the Club World Cup for the first time” on Wednesday “following a backlash to its decision to roll back its campaigns” across the opening three days of the tournament. A video “explaining FIFA’s anti-racism protocols and the organisation’s ‘universal anti-racism gesture’ was played” before Wednesday’s match between Manchester City and Wyad AC at Lincoln Financial Field, while “anti-racism messages were displayed on advertising hoardings” at Hard Rock Stadium before Real Madrid played Al Hilal. The messaging was meant to mark Wednesday being International Day for Countering Hate Speech and sources indicated that it would “only be in place” for International Day for Countering Hate Speech and “not throughout the rest of the tournament” (THE ATHLETIC, 6/18).

On the pod this week, Austin Karp chats with SBJ colleagues Ben Fischer and Josh Carpenter to break down the implications of Brian Rolapp’s move from the NFL to the PGA Tour (and whether he may still be on the NFL commissioner short list in the future). Then, fresh off a successful event in N.Y., Karp talks with Melissa Lawton of SailGP to check in on the series’ deal with CBS and other media efforts. Finally, Vice TV’s Pete Gaffney joins Karp to talk about the strategy shift for the company into more sports programming.

Rick Ware Racing has “filed a countersuit against Legacy Motor Club” in a continuing battle over a charter sale gone bad. It has “since come to light that there is a dispute over which charter (each one is assigned a number) was for sale.” Ware “owns two charters, the No. 27 and No. 36 charters.” One of the charters is “currently being leased to RFK Racing, and the other is used for Ware’s primary team.” The countersuit shows the agreement entered between the parties “identified Charter No. 36 as the sale charter” for a purchase price of $45M. But Legacy has “repudiated the Agreement by … claiming the Agreement was actually for Charter No. 27, seeking to enforce a sale of Charter No. 27 (including but not limited to filing a lawsuit), and refusing to perform the parties’ agreement for sale of Charter No. 36.” It was Charter No. 36 that Ware “agreed to sell,” and the company “would then compete with Charter No. 27 next season.” However, Ware alleges that the agreement “correctly identified Charter No. 36 as being sold, even though there were errors and misstatements of facts” in the agreement (RACER, 6/18).

CFP Exec Dir Rich Clark on Wednesday said “pretty much everything’s on the table” when it comes to what the format should look like in 2026 and beyond. Clark, speaking after the conclusion of two days of meetings between the 10 FBS commissioners and Notre Dame AD Pete Bevacqua in Asheville, N.C., said, “They’re taking a good look at it all of it. So I wouldn’t say there’s a leading contender right now for them, but they’re taking a fresh look at it.” Dinich notes much of this week’s meetings were “spent studying metrics, including strength of schedule.” Clark said, “Some of these metrics were put into place with a whole different look at the way college football was laid out and the conferences were structured. … I wouldn’t say it’s dramatic, but it’s a refresh.” He added that whatever they decide, they would “like to do it by the fall,” and they are “not looking to postpone the decision by keeping the status quo for another season.”

Clark said that there “has been progress, but the group still has ‘lots of space to still make some decisions.’” Dinich notes the Big Ten and the SEC have the “bulk of control of the next iteration of the playoff,” but the two conferences “haven’t been on the same page recently in terms of what that should look like.” Clark said they are “obligated to come to an agreement on what the format is” (ESPN.com, 6/18).

The Florida BOG approved an emergency amendment yesterday for the “temporary use of auxiliary funds up to” $22.5M, “in the form of a loan or funds transfer, to cover the cost of revenue-sharing agreements with state university student-athletes until 2028.” The move directly relates to the recently approved House settlement. Auxiliary funds are “collected through housing costs, parking, food services and other ‘service-based’ costs on campus.” These funds were previously not allowed to be used for athletics, with the state requiring school athletic programs to be self-sufficient (TALLAHASSEE DEMOCRAT, 6/18).

“The name of this residence completed in 1895 combines part of the owner’s Dutch name with an English word for an open expanse.”