It’s pretty obvious to see that the Los Angeles Lakers are one of, if not the most popular teams in the NBA, with fans around the world, and have become one of the most recognizable brands on the planet over the past 40 years.
With that comes a massive financial advantage, one the Lakers have over the Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls, Golden State Warriors, and the rest of the league.
As Brian Windhorst said on The Hoop Collective podcast, taking data shared by the Wall Street Journal, the Lakers are making more money than every other team in the NBA when it comes to their game day revenue, TV deals, and overall profit.
The franchise was just sold for a record-breaking $12.5 billion valuation, but big money isn’t something new for the Lakers.
Lakers Massive Financial Advantage Over NBA
Speaking on his podcast, Windhorst discussed how the Lakers make more money than any other franchise in the NBA. The team reportedly makes
“The Wall Street Journal said that the Lakers’ profit was $129 million,” Windhorst said, after stating that the team’s total revenue was $681 million before their $552 million in total expenses.
His comments stem from a Wall Street Journal article detailing the Lakers’ financial situation and how new owners Bob Iger and Josh Kushner are hoping to lead the franchise to a whopping $30 billion valuation during the time they are running the show.
“The buyers are inheriting an already lucrative business. The group said the Lakers are on track to generate $681 million in revenue in 2026, with ticketing and media rights accounting for the largest share. Under their plans, they said, revenue would hit at least $1.6 billion by the end of 2037,” WSJ wrote.
Despite reports about the Buss family and previous owner Mark Walter not being in the best place money-wise, that isn’t the case for the Lakers as a whole. When it comes to dollars and sense, the 17-time NBA champions are rolling in profit, and potentially even more under the new owners.
“Profits are expected to zoom up as well, with adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization set to more than triple from an estimated $129 million to more than $589 million over that span, according to the presentation,” the publication added. “The plan outlined by Thrive identifies around $150 million in near-term incremental revenue by 2028…The buyers would also capture $40 million to $75 million from sponsorship opportunities and extract at least $20 million in operating cost efficiencies.”
Even though they were already one of the biggest sports brands in the world, Iger and Kushner have plans to push that even further.
TV Deals Gives LA Another Huge Boost
Along with just speaking about total revenue and profit, Windhorst added that the Lakers have a massive advantage when it comes to media rights deals. The NBA has a collective bargaining agreement that means all franchises make the same from the national broadcast partners, but when it comes to the Purple and Gold’s local TV deal with Spectrum SportsNet, it’s a completely different story.
“So what they’re saying is that the check that’s coming from the league that every team gets is roughly $176 million,” Windhorst explained. “This is what I’m fascinated by: the number that I’m about to give you. The local media rights. … This is the deal that differentiates the Lakers from everybody else. $180 million.”
Windhorst said the Lakers and Spectrum SportsNet are under contract for a partnership until 2032, with the franchise set to earn more than every other team in the NBA from that deal until at least then, and likely longer going forward.
While the Lakers clearly can’t spend all of this money on the salary cap, having more money and making a larger profit than the rest of the NBA gives them an inherent step up. Los Angeles is already a top free agent destination, but they can use that money on player development, training facilities, stadium renovations, including luxury boxes and suites, and pretty much everything else that doesn’t have to do with the actual players on the court during a game.
As mentioned, the Lakers are already the most well-known and popular team in the NBA, and that’s proven in their accounting.
Now, the Lakers have pressure to turn that profit into success this season under Luka Doncic and the new ownership group. It remains to be seen if the team’s recent ownership drama will have an impact on winning for the upcoming 2026-27 season, as it clearly hasn’t changed the bottom line of dollars and cents.
Lakers Get Massive Advantage Over NBA As New Ownership Takes Control