The record $12.5 billion sale of the Los Angeles Lakers is agreed in principle but, according to podcaster Bill Simmons, the money is not all there yet. Simmons said this week that Josh Kushner, the billionaire Thrive Capital founder leading the buying group alongside former Disney chief Bob Iger, is still $5 billion to $6 billion short and is scrambling to find minority investors to close the gap.
‘I’ve talked to too many people who said they’re still looking to find the remaining money to pay $12.5 billion,’ Simmons said on his podcast. ‘I think that they’ll probably get the money, but I think they don’t have it yet because too many people have been shown the deck and offered it and offered a chance to get it.’ According to reports cited by Simmons, Kushner and Iger have been shopping minority stakes starting at $250 million to $350 million, while Iger himself is putting in only about $63 million.
Terms agreed, but the deal is not done
The sale itself moved a major step forward at the end of October. According to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, Lakers owner Mark Walter and Kushner met in person at Walter’s home in Florida on October 29 and 30 and ‘agreed on all outstanding terms of the sale’ at a $12.5 billion valuation, which would make it the largest franchise sale in sports history. ESPN’s sources said Kushner had ‘assured Walter he has raised all the money necessary to complete the sale’.
The agreement came less than a year after Walter agreed to buy the Lakers from the Buss family for $10 billion, and just over two months after Kushner and Iger struck their deal with Walter. Nothing is signed yet: the transaction still requires final documentation and approval from the NBA’s Board of Governors, with at least three-quarters of owners needing to vote in favour. A board vote is expected in November. If approved, Kushner would become controlling owner and Iger would take a minority stake and run day-to-day operations, ending the Buss family’s governance after an ownership dispute.
The Iger family is already in the building
While the sale awaits league approval, the Iger family has already established another connection to the franchise. Will Iger, Bob Iger’s son, was named play-by-play announcer for the Coachella Valley Lakers, the organisation’s G League affiliate, on November 5. He will work alongside former Lakers forward A.C. Green during the 2026-27 season. The affiliate opened its inaugural season on November 6 against the Salt Lake City Stars at Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert.
There has been no indication from the Lakers that the broadcast hire was tied to the ownership negotiations. But with the NBA board vote expected this month and a court hearing in the Buss family dispute set for December 8, the $12.5 billion question remains whether Kushner can produce the cash. For more Lakers action, see Wednesday NBA: Spurs and Lakers put streaks on the line and Knicks rout Bucks 117-85.
