guggenheim baseball group

When Walter’s Guggenheim Baseball group bought the Dodgers in 2012, the once-proud franchise was mired in embarrassment and mediocrity.

Under Frank McCourt’s ownership, the team was in bankruptcy. It had not fielded a top-10 MLB payroll three years running. And it had only won the National League West three times since the turn of the century, seemingly miles away from ending what was already by then a decades-long World Series drought.

But then came Guggenheim — making huge infusions of cash, followed by a sudden return to contention.

Since 2013, the Dodgers have exceeded MLB’s luxury tax threshold (the closest thing baseball has to a soft salary cap) eight times and topped the league in spending seven times.

They’ve splurged repeatedly on star talent, from lucrative extensions for Clayton Kershaw, Andre Ethier and Kenley Jansen; to blockbuster acquisitions of Adrián González, Hanley Ramírez and Zack Greinke; to the more recently transformative arrivals of Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Shohei Ohtani.

And in that span, they’ve never once missed the playoffs, won their division 11 of the past 12 seasons, and reached the World Series on four occasions — finally breaking through with championships in 2020 and 2024.

“He wants to win,” Roberts said of Walter. “He feels that the fans, the city deserves that.”

Walter’s Guggenheim group has made major outlays beyond the roster as well. They invested in what has become one of the most renowned farm systems in the sport. They have built a robust analytics department in the front office. They’ve made multiple major renovations to Dodger Stadium, upgrading fan areas and the players’ clubhouse facility.

There have been moments when the team has shown financial constraint, most notably when it strategically stayed under the luxury tax in 2018 and 2019 — to the chagrin of some fans at the time.

But in the past two offseasons, the Dodgers have spared almost no expense, this year becoming the first team in MLB history to boast a $400 million luxury tax payroll.

“The commitment from our ownership group from the minute I got here has been incredible,” president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said this offseason. “It has always been, ‘Hey let’s push. Let’s go. Lets’ get better.’”

The Los Angeles Lakers, a family-run business since Jerry Buss purchased the franchise in 1979, will be sold to Dodgers controlling owner Mark Walter and TWG Global, according to multiple people briefed on the deal.

The deal is expected to occur with the Lakers’ valuation being about $10 billion — a record for a professional sports franchise.

Walter will now lead the city’s two premier professional sports teams.

Control of the Lakers went into a family trust after Buss died in 2013, with daughter Jeanie Buss operating as the team’s governor. The structure of the trust meant the majority of Buss’ six children — Johnny, Jim, Jeanie, Janie, Joey and Jess — would need to agree for a sale to occur.

The Lakers didn’t respond to requests for comment.

The sale was viewed as a massive surprise in NBA circles.

Jeanie Buss reportedly will remain _{governor under the terms of the sale. All controlling governors representing teams in league meetings need to own at least 15% of the franchise to serve. The Buss family owned 66%.}

The sale will end family-run control of the Lakers, who have achieved incredible success — 11 NBA championships earned by some of the league’s most iconic figures, including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James — under Buss and his children’s leadership.

“I know that my sister Jeanie would have only considered selling the Lakers organization to someone she knows and trusts would carry on the Buss legacy, started by her father Dr. Buss. Now she can comfortably pass the baton to Mark Walter, with whom she has a real friendship and can trust,” Magic Johnson wrote in a post on X.

“She’s witnessed him build a winning team with the Dodgers and knows that Mark will do right by the Lakers team, organization, and fans! Both are extremely intelligent, visionaries, great leaders, and have positively impacted the greater Los Angeles community! I love both my sister @JeanieBuss and my business partner Mark Walter.”

In March, Bill Chisholm purchased the Boston Celtics from Wyc Grousbeck for $6.1 billion. Mark Cuban sold his control of the Dallas Mavericks late in 2023 for $3.5 billion.

And earlier that year, Marc Lasry sold the Milwaukee Bucks for $3.5 billion. Grousbeck and Cuban were two of Jeanie Buss’ closest confidantes among league ownership.

Walter and Todd Boehly became the Lakers’ largest minority shareholders in 2021 when they bought 27% of the franchise — a stake previously held by Phil Anschutz.

“The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the most successful and admired franchises in sports history,” Walter said in a news release at the time. “I have watched the organization grow under Jeanie’s leadership and couldn’t be more excited to partner with her and the entire management team. I am committed to supporting the franchise’s iconic status by continuing to bring together culture, community and entertainment to Lakers’ fans.”

Walter was a relatively anonymous billionaire in 2012, when Johnson and Stan Kasten were the marquee partners in the purchase of of the Dodgers for $2 billion, then the largest price paid for a Major League Baseball team.

Critics scoffed at the purchase price, but Walter and Boehly then negotiated a record $8.35-billion local television deal with Time Warner Cable. Sportico this year valued the Dodgers at $7.73 billion and estimated that they generated $1 billion in revenue last year, highlighted by the global economic boost they gained from signing Shohei Ohtani to a record $700-million contract.

The Dodgers also won the World Series last year, their second championship and fourth World Series appearance in the last eight years. In the 13 seasons since Walter and his group bought the Dodgers, the team has posted a winning record every year. In that same 13-season span, the Lakers have one championship, one NBA Finals appearance and six winning records.

After buying the Dodgers, Walter and Boehly explored buying AEG, the entertainment giant that owns the Kings and Crypto.com Arena. Walter subsequently bought the Sparks, invested in the Lakers and launched a professional women’s hockey league in which the championship trophy is called the Walter Cup.

If the Dodgers’ purchase is any indication, Walter might not make an immediate flurry of changes with the Lakers. After he bought the Dodgers, he retained general manager Ned Colletti through the 2014 season before replacing him with Andrew Friedman.

The beloved O’Malley family sold the Dodgers before the turn of the century, saying the economics of professional sports had exploded beyond the means of families with no other significant source of income.

Under Walter, the Dodgers have not only raised their payroll to record levels but invested heavily in areas that they believe help deliver a winner, from a vaunted analytics department to dietitians for their major and minor league players and expanded clubhouses with the latest in hydrotherapy. The owners also have invested more than $500 million into renovating Dodger Stadium, adding modern amenities to a 63-year-old ballpark.

The Lakers, whose minority owners include Los Angeles Times owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, are entering a critical moment in the franchise’s history. James, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, has a $53-million player option that he needs to either accept or decline by June 29. If he declines, he’d be an unrestricted free agent.

The team also is trying to sign Luka Doncic, who it acquired in a shocking trade last February, to a massive contract extension functionally making him the future face of the franchise. He’s eligible to sign an extension on Aug. 2.

Times staff writer Jack Harris contributed to this report.