The Los Angeles Lakers just got bought for a wild $12.5 billion last month, a record-breaking price tag for *any* professional sports team, period. But get this, the new ownership group, led by Joshua Kushner and Bob Iger, is already telling potential investors they expect that value to rocket to at least $30 billion by the end of 2037. Yeah, you read that right, thirty BILLION dollars in a decade. This isn’t just some loose talk, either. A presentation prepared by Kushner’s Thrive Capital investment firm for potential investors, reviewed by the Wall Street Journal, lays out exactly how they plan to pull off that kind of financial magic.
That $30 Billion Dream: What’s the Catch?
So, how do you nearly triple a team’s value in ten years? According to the presentation, a huge chunk of that $30 billion valuation hinges on one big assumption: the Lakers’ television and streaming rights have to double in value over the same timeframe. That’s a massive bet, but Thrive Capital reportedly thinks the NBA’s overall TV fees, currently sitting at $77 billion over 11 years, will double when that deal wraps up. Talk about optimism! The numbers they’re throwing around are just bonkers. The Lakers are reportedly on track to pull in $681 million in revenue this year, 2026, but the owners believe that could jump to at least $1.6 billion a decade from now. And if things go even better, they’re reportedly dreaming of a long-term valuation of $62 billion. To put that in perspective, a $30 billion valuation is more than the combined value of teams like the Blazers, Timberwolves, Magic, Pistons, Hornets, Pelicans, and Grizzlies. Wanna hit $62 billion? Throw in the Nuggets, Wizards, Pacers, Bucks, Spurs, Thunder, and Jazz. It’s an insane amount of money, but hey, the Lakers’ value did quadruple from $3 billion in 2016 over the last decade.
Your Wallet Is Their Playbook
Here’s where it gets interesting, and probably not in a good way for the average fan. Thrive Capital has some concrete plans to rake in an extra $150 million in incremental revenue by 2028. How? By reclaiming around 6,000 season tickets currently held by brokers and selling them as single-game tickets. Then, they’re reportedly going to hike the average price of those single-game tickets from $217 to a whopping $361. That’s not a small bump. We’re talking more expensive tickets, with the team cutting out the middleman to keep more of that cash. On top of that, they reportedly plan to grab $40 million to $75 million in new sponsorship opportunities and pull at least $20 million out of “operating cost efficiencies.” Translation: more ads everywhere, and some serious cuts to how the team operates. This is all from the same group that said their “long-term commitment is to build on [Jerry and Jeanie Buss’] foundation, compete at the highest level, and serve this extraordinary team, its fans, and the city of Los Angeles.” Sure sounds like serving the fans by emptying their pockets, right?
The Lakers’ new owners have a bold, some might say audacious, plan to make an absolutely insane amount of money. The question now is whether the legendary Lakers fanbase will put up with these changes, or if all those ticket hikes and operational cuts just push them away. We’ll be watching to see how this all shakes out in Hollywood, and if those sky-high valuations actually materialize.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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