ArentFox Schiff Advises The Los Angeles Lakers and Buss Family in Connection With the Sale of a Majority Ownership Interest to Mark Walter

The ArentFox Schiff team was led by Rich Brand, co-head of the firm’s Sports Industry Group and managing partner of the San Francisco office. San Francisco-based Sports group partner Zak Welsh played a leading role in the transaction, which also included a multi-disciplinary group of ArentFox Schiff attorneys, including partners Richard Gale, Steve Cohen, Jeff Tate, Samantha Overly Patel, and Mamta Shah, and associate Eric Sanchez, among others.
 
The landmark transaction valued the Los Angeles Lakers at $10 billion, which is the highest control-sale in the history of US team sports, eclipsing the previous records for the control-sale of the Boston Celtics ($6.1 billion) earlier in 2025 and the Washington Commanders ($6.05 billion) in 2023. Following the sale, Jeanie Buss will remain Governor of the Lakers and continue to oversee day-to-day team operations for the foreseeable future.
 
This transaction follows in the footsteps of a number of large, notable transactions for which Rich and the ArentFox Schiff team has represented the Lakers over the last two decades, including the long-term extension of the team’s lease for Crypto.com Arena with Anschutz Entertainment Group, Inc., the naming rights transaction for the team’s training facility with UCLA Health, the team’s media rights agreement with Time Warner Cable, Inc., and the 2021 sale by Phillip Anschutz of a minority interest in the Lakers to Mark Walter and Todd Boehly.

See media coverage of the transaction below:
NBA.com
The New York Times
Sportico
ESPN

From coast to coast, ArentFox Schiff boasts one of the country’s most experienced and diverse sports law practices. The Sports group regularly advises leagues, teams, venues, operators, sponsors, and brands across all major professional and collegiate sports throughout the United States and internationally, as well as purchasers and sellers of professional franchises and other sports properties. The Sports group’s experience covers nearly every type of commercial transaction in the sports industry, including representing venues in all aspects of operations from inception to operation, with a preeminent focus on the development and implementation of initial naming rights and founding sponsorship programs, as well as the negotiation and finalization of key foundational operational agreements such as management agreements, ticketing agreements, food and beverage agreements, pouring rights agreements, and more. The Sports group also has key experience beyond the more traditional practice areas in burgeoning new sectors of the sports industry, such as fantasy sports, gaming, e-sports, blockchain, and artificial intelligence applications.

In addition, the Sports group also represents some of the most well-known athletes on a broad array of sports-related engagements, including some of the largest sneaker and brand deals in the industry. Members of the Sports group also regularly advise private equity firms and strategic investors in various transactions, including acquisitions and divestments of interests in professional sports franchises, and mergers and acquisitions of entities in the sports industry.

ArentFox Schiff is uniquely positioned to support clients at the highest levels, boasting a deep bench of experience on a national platform. The firm delivers top-tier client service on every matter, leveraging cross-disciplinary capabilities in media, IP, sponsorship, data, and regulatory to drive efficient, end-to-end execution from strategy through signature and rollout.