Today I read an article (see here) that detailed the Los Angeles Lakers’ expected revenue, expenses, and profits. I’ve been interested in the team since reading a Jack Kent Cooke biography (see here) describing how he bought the team for $5.17 million in 1965 and sold it, along with the NHL Kings and other assets, to Jerry Buss (whose family are the current owners) for $67 million in 1979 (see here). I’ve been following the story about last month’s offer to acquire the team for $12.5 billion and am curious about the numbers supporting that valuation.

So, here are the 2026 financial projections the article shared (they’re pulled from an investor deck that Thrive Capital is using to raise money from investors):

• Total revenue: $681 million
• Total expenses: $552 million
• EBITDA (i.e., profit): $129 million

Here are a few things I found interesting:

• Players and coaches: $251 million expense
• NBA assessment: $96 million expense
• Tickets and game-day sales: $245 million revenue
• Local media rights: $180 million revenue
• National media rights: $144 million revenue
• Sponsorships: $80 million revenue

So, in round numbers, the cost of players and coaches is 37% of revenue, and that huge dollar amount is spread across a small number of people (I assume, since the player roster is about 15 people). And total media revenue ($324 million) is 48% of total revenue ($681 million). The Lakers’ game-day and ticket sales are huge at 36% of revenue, which I wasn’t expecting.  

I’m not sure how the group buying the Lakers came up with the $12.5 billion valuation, but it’s interesting to see the business numbers. Given these numbers, I’d imagine there are lots of other factors and assets, beyond the EBITDA, that contribute to the deal price.