Jeanie Buss has done her best to lead the Los Angeles Lakers franchise following her father’s death and a public feud with her siblings over control of the franchise.
Despite all the turmoil and drama, Buss oversaw the Lakers’ most recent championship title in 2020 but has since struggled to replicate that success on the floor. After years of rumors that Buss would consider selling the team, she executed a deal to sell a majority stake of the team to Mark Walter, who was already on board as a minority governor. Buss and Walter agreed on a $10 billion deal that will give the former majority control and with it an influx of cash the organization has never seen before.
Buss issued an official statement announcing the deal, though she is still set to remain within the organization in her current role.
Buss is expected to hold this role for at least a few years:
The plan is for Buss to remain in the position for “years,” according to sources familiar with the agreement.
The official release from Buss noted that completion of the sale is expected to be in the third or fourth quarter of 2025 pending NBA approval, meaning that Walter won’t officially be named majority owner until later in the year.
The immediate thought following news of the sale was that all decision-making would be handed over to Walter and his group, but it appears Buss was able to negotiate a deal to keep her in power for the time being. The expectation was that Walter would begin to implement changes sooner than later, but he is seemingly patient enough to allow Buss to transition out on her own time.
Jeanie has historically not been too involved in personnel decisions, so this shouldn’t affect roster building. However, it’ll still be interesting to see how things shake out over the next several months.
Mark Walter chose to keep Jeanie Buss on as governor and agreement is in writing
Mark Walter is lauded in the sports world for his commitment to winning, though he’s also a shrewd businessman who understands people and personnel. With that in mind, he’s placed a lot of trust in Jeanie Buss as he chose to keep her on as governor of the Lakers and has the agreement in writing.
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