The LA Lakers sale is a $10 billion masterclass in building brand equity
It’s a brand built on performance, personality, and relentless media presence. But why is it worth $10 billion? Charlie Rose, strategy director at branding agency Principals, breaks it down.
When news broke that the LA Lakers basketball team was being sold for $10 billion US dollars (about $15 billion AUD), it did not just signal another record in the soaring world of sports franchise sales. It underlined one core truth: in 2025, what the big cheques are buying is not bricks, mortar or player rosters. They are buying brand equity.
The Lakers do not own their home court, the Crypto.com Arena. They are licensees. They do not own the LA market. That is shared with the Clippers.
What the Lakers do own is one of the world’s most valuable, distinctive and emotionally resonant sports brands. A brand built over decades on performance, personality, and relentless media presence.
As ESPN’s senior reporter Brian Windhorst said in his podcast, “They’re buying the brand.”
And what a brand it is.
To understand the why behind the $10 billion price tag, it is worth unpacking the brand equity playbook that has made the Lakers a global juggernaut because there are lessons here for all marketers.
The Laker Girls.
A timeline of brand building
Like any great brand, the Lakers’ story is long-term.
The foundation was set in the 1980s “Showtime” era with thanks to players like Magic Johnson, James Worthy, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar; the Fabulous Forum – the team’s former home court; and celebrities like Jack Nicholson and Rob Lowe, who were regular courtside fixtures.
Under Dr. Jerry Buss’ ownership, the Lakers became entertainment as much as sport. Fast, glamorous, star-studded. The NBA’s global push in the 1980s and 1990s rode on the back of that charisma.
In the 2000s, a second dynasty, Shaq and Kobe. Phil Jackson on the bench. Five more banners raised to the rafters to commemorate NBA victories.
Importantly, the Lakers’ brand extended globally through emerging digital platforms: NBA League Pass, YouTube highlights, and eventually Instagram.
Today, Lebron James continues the legacy, adding modern relevance. Add in the recent acquisition of Luka Doncic, and this is a brand in perpetual renewal.
The Lakers don’t own the crypto.com arena in which they play.
Distinctive assets, global fame
Byron Sharp’s laws of brand growth tell us that brands grow through mental and physical availability. The Lakers have both in spades. The gold and purple colours. The Lakers’ name. The celebrities on the sideline. The iconic jersey. All distinctive brand assets embedded in culture.
But more than that, the Lakers have built what marketing expert Kevin Lane Keller would call ‘brand resonance’, a deep emotional connection with millions of fans who have followed triumphs and heartbreaks. This is the stuff of true brand equity.
Rui Hachimura and LeBron James
The brand value multiple
So what makes this brand worth $10 billion?
The underlying licence value of an NBA team’s rights, plus local TV deals and stadium-related income, would add up to much less. For comparison, the Dallas Mavericks recently sold for about $3.5 billion, the Boston Celtics are rumoured to be valued at $6.1 billion. The Lakers’ valuation includes a hefty multiple for global brand equity and monetisable fame.
What gets priced into that multiple? As brand valuation frameworks such as Kantar, Brand Finance and Interbrand show, the key drivers are future earnings potential, strength of brand equity, and contribution to customer choice. The Lakers’ brand scores highly across all three. It holds strong mental availability, high emotional affinity, and a global base of superfans willing to spend on merch, media and experiences.
In a world where Abu Dhabi recently invested $10 billion in the sports investment powerhouse TWG Global – the new owners of the Lakers and other sporting assets, including the Dodgers, Chelsea FC and the Cadillac Formula One team – spending big on the Lakers is a smart bet. Unlike an oil field or tech stock, the Lakers’ brand has enduring cultural value and scarcity. There is only one Lakers.
The globalisation of sports brands
The most successful sports franchises are no longer built on local teams; they are international lifestyle brands beamed across the globe via streaming, social media and passionate fandom.
In recent times, English Premier League teams like Manchester United and Liverpool have traded hands at higher multiples. The NFL’s Dallas Cowboys is reportedly valued north of $9 billion. The NBA’s coming media rights deal will further supercharge global monetisation. While the Lakers purchase is anything but small change, there’s likely to be even bigger sports deals in the near future.
Charlie Rose
What marketers should take from this
First, brand equity compounds over decades. The Lakers’ value is a result of sustained brand building since the 1980s, not a single season or player.
Second, distinctive brand assets matter. The visuals, culture and emotional resonance of the Lakers mean the brand travels far beyond basketball nerds.
Fame drives value. As the godfathers of effectiveness, Les Binet and Peter Field, have shown, highly creative fame campaigns create disproportionate returns. In sport, winning helps. But media presence and pop culture relevance drive the brand.
Strong brand equity increases pricing power and margin and attracts strategic buyers willing to pay future earnings multiples. As we see in brand valuation models, contribution to choice and revenue premium are critical in unlocking investment value.
Finally, sport is now the apex example of brand-driven valuation. For CMOs everywhere, this is a reminder: own the brand, build its salience and emotional depth, and you are creating an asset that investors will pay multiples for.
Because as Windhorst said, they’re buying the brand.
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