Record-Breaking Team Sales: Lakers Lead $100B Sports Franchise Boom

When Teams Become Trophy Assets: The $100B Sports Franchise Phenomenon
As someone who crunches numbers for a living, even I had to double-check my spreadsheet when the Lakers’ $100 billion valuation hit my feed. Let’s dissect this unprecedented deal and its context in pro sports’ new financial reality.
Basketball’s New Gold Standard
The Lakers deal would shatter records, but they’re not alone:
- Boston Celtics: Sold for $6.1B in March 2024 (previous NBA record)
- Phoenix Suns: 57% stake went for \(2.28B (valuing franchise at ~\)4B)
- Washington Commanders: NFL team sold for $6.05B in 2023
My analysis? Franchise values are growing faster than Giannis’ vertical leap. The Lakers’ potential sale price represents a 10,000% return on Dr. Buss’ 1979 $20M purchase.
Football’s Billion-Dollar Transfer Market
European clubs are keeping pace:
- Chelsea FC: $5.7B total package in 2022 (including future investments)
- Manchester United: 25% stake sold for \(1.67B valuing club at \)6.68B
- AC Milan: Changed hands for $1.26B despite fan discontent
As a former scout, I’ll note these prices now rival entire league revenues from my playing days in the ‘90s.
What The Data Tells Us
Three key trends emerge from my models:
- Media Rights Drive Valuations: Live sports remain DVR-proof
- Crypto Crash Didn’t Matter: Traditional billionaires still want trophy assets
- New Math: Franchise values now exceed reasonable revenue multiples
The most fascinating stat? The average annualized return for sports teams over 25 years beats the S&P 500 by nearly 3%. Maybe I should’ve invested less in PER models and more in team equity.
StatHawk
Hot comment (1)

Quand le sport devient plus rentable que la Bourse
100 milliards pour les Lakers ? À ce prix-là, Mbappé devrait demander une augmentation !
La folie des valuations Entre les Celtics à 6Mds et Chelsea à 5,7Mds, on se croirait dans une vente aux enchères de NFTs. Mon tableur Excel a bugué en calculant le ROI du Dr Buss : +10 000% depuis 1979 !
À quand le PSG en bourse ? Ces chiffres donnent le tournis. Comme disait mon prof d’économie : “Achetez des terrains… ou des terrains de basket !”
Et vous, vous investiriez dans quel club ? 😉
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