When Private Equity Comes for Your Favorite Team

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<p>Last week, the owner of the Los Angeles Lakers announced he was selling the basketball team for $12.5 billion — the highest price ever paid for a professional sports team. The deal has shocked the sports world and drawn new attention to a growing trend: Big groups of investors have been buying up professional sports teams as the franchises chase skyrocketing valuations.</p> <p>Today, Pablo Torre, the host of “Pablo Torre Finds Out,” explains the deal and how big money is transforming our relationship with the sports we love.</p> <p>Guest: Pablo Torre, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and the host of “Pablo Torre Finds Out.”</p> <p>Background reading: </p> <ul> <li>The deal for the Los Angeles Lakers valued the team at a record $12.5 billion, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/15/business/sports-team-values-billionaires.html?searchResultPosition=8" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">eclipsing the $10 billion paid for the franchise just last year</a>.</li> <li>The transaction for the Lakers reflects the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/13/business/dealbook/lakers-deal-kushner-iger-walter.html?searchResultPosition=18" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">huge profit potential of major sports franchises</a>.</li> </ul> <p>Photo: Logan Riely/NBAE, via Getty Images</p> <p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily" rel="noopener noreferrer">nytimes.com/thedaily</a>. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. </p> <p><p>Subscribe today at <a href="http://nytimes.com/podcasts">nytimes.com/podcasts</a> or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher">https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher</a>. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.</p></p><br/> <p>Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.</p>