The 10 Most Expensive Sports Team Sales In U.S. History

The Los Angeles Lakers became the most expensive sports team in history on Wednesday when the legendary Buss family sold to a group led by Guggenheim Partners CEO Mark Walter for $1o billion.

Today we’ll take a deep dive into the 10 most expensive sales in U.S. history, including one recent sale of the Lakers’ biggest rival, the Boston Celtics.

With each passing year, it seems that the value of sports franchises, particularly in the U.S., continues to skyrocket. That feeling was rubberstamped on Wednesday when the NBA’s most famed franchise, the Los Angeles Lakers, were sold for a record $10 billion.

In this slideshow, we’ll take a lot at the nine other teams that join the Lakers on the list of most expensive sports team sales in U.S. history.

10) Carolina Panthers - $2.275 Billion

As we’ll see in the coming slides, Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper got in on the ground floor in 2018 when he bought the franchise from founding owner Jerry Richardson for just $2.275 billion.

Panthers fans were ecstatic at the time, but have since soured on Tepper after the team has failed to make the playoffs in any of his seven seasons in charge. Carolina is just 36-80 in that time frame and has finished either third or fourth in the NFC South in all but one season.

9) Brooklyn Nets - $2.35 Billion

In 2019, Joe Tsai became the majority of the Brooklyn Nets after exercising an option to buy out the franchise from Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov for $2.35 billion.

Tsai immediately invested heavily, bringing in superstars Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant and James Harden. Unfortunately for Tsai and Nets fans, the acquisitions eventually blew up in the team’s face and it currently finds itself in purgatory, trying to rebuild with little in the way of major assets.

8) New York Mets - $2.4 Billion

Current New York Mets owner Steve Cohen was greeted as a messiah when he purchased the franchise from much-maligned owner Fred Wilpon for $2.4 billion in 2020.

Cohen, who has an estimated net worth of over $20 billion, has since shown that he’s not afraid to throw his money around. That fact was exemplified this past offseason when he handed free agent Juan Soto the largest contract in MLB history.

7) Charlotte Hornets - $3 Billion

After a brutal stretch under NBA legend Michael Jordan, the Charlotte Hornets were sold to a group of investors led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnal in 2023.

While the move made Tepper’s purchase of the city’s NFL team five years prior look like a bargain, it sadly hasn’t translated to success for the Hornets, who finished with the third-worst record in the NBA for the second consecutive season under new ownership.

6) Dallas Mavericks - $3.5 Billion

When most NBA fans think of the Dallas Mavericks, one of the first things they think of is boisterous former owner Mark Cuban, which is why it was so surprising when Cuban sold his majority stake in the team to Miriam Adelson and Patrick Dumont for $3.5 billion in 2023.

Cuban retained a 27 percent stake in the team, but he’s been all but phased out of the decision-making process and was highly critical of the team’s decision to trade superstar Luka Doncic this past season.

5) Phoenix Suns - $4 Billion

Brothers Mat and Justin Ishbia purchased the Suns for $4 billion in 2022 after former owner Robert Sarver was found to have used racial slurs on several occasions and mistreated several female employees.

The Ishbias, like Tsai before them, attempted to build a juggernaut with Durant and fellow stars Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. But they met the same end and are now in the process of looking to trade Durant this offseason.

They did, however, also acquire the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury in the purchase, a move that could prove extremely valuable in the near future.

4) Denver Broncos - $4.65 Billion

Rob Walton, heir to the Walmart fortune, purchased the Denver Broncos for $4.65 billion as the head of a consortium including several family members, Starbucks chairwoman Mellody Hobson, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton.

Walton then gave control of the team to his son-in-law, Greg Penner, who serves as the CEO as well as the current chairman of Walmart.

After a rough stretch, Penner helped hire Sean Payton in 2023 and the organization appears to be trending upward.

3) Washington Commanders - $6.05

After a seemingly never-ending process involving disgraced former owner Dan Snyder, the Washington Commanders were sold to a group led by Josh Harris in 2023 for $6.05 billion.

Harris, who also owns the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils, helped quickly lead a turnaround, and the franchise made the NFC Championship Game for the first time in 33 years this past season.

2) Boston Celtics - $6.1 Billion

Boston Celtics owners Wyc Grousbeck and Steven Pagliuca stunned the NBA world when they opted to strike while the iron is hot and sold the legendary franchise for $6.1 billion after winning an NBA championship a year ago.

The franchise appears to be in good hands, however, as it was purchased by Massachusetts native and Celtics fan Bill Chisholm, who made his fortune in private equity and claims to have an “encyclopedic knowledge” of the team’s history.

1) Los Angeles Lakers - $10 Billion

Not to be outdone by their hated rivals, the Los Angeles Lakers stole headlines on Wednesday when they were sold for $10 billion to a group led by Guggenheim Partners CEO Mark Walker.

Walter is best known as the free-spending primary owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers. But he also owns the newly founded Cadillac F1 team and a minority share of Premier League giants Chelsea FC. He also previously owned 20 percent of the Lakers before purchasing a majority share.

The sale ends a 45-year run with the Buss family in charge. In that span, the Lakers won 11 NBA championships.