The Lakers Deal That Made Jerry Buss a Legend

Published on September 14th, 2025 5:42 pm EST
Written By: Dave Manuel


In 1979, Jerry Buss closed one of the most legendary deals in sports history. He bought the Los Angeles Lakers, the NHL's Kings, the Forum, and a massive California ranch. The purchase price was $67.5 million, but the structure of the deal is what turned it into one of the great financial coups of all time.

At the time, Buss didn't have tens of millions sitting in cash. What he had was real estate, leverage, and vision. He used a combination of cash, property swaps, and debt to make the transaction work. Buss put up roughly $16 million in cash, transferred valuable real estate holdings into the deal, and financed the rest.

The jewel was the Lakers. The team was already in a prime market, but within months, Buss had Magic Johnson. Within a few years, the "Showtime" dynasty was born. Winning teams filled the Forum, drove TV revenues, and built brand value at a speed that made the initial purchase price look like a steal.

But here's the kicker: the ranch land and real estate that Buss rolled into the transaction appreciated rapidly. By the early 1980s, the value of those assets covered the financing and outlay. In practical terms, the Lakers and the Kings had essentially cost him nothing. The rising tide of Los Angeles property values effectively paid for the sports franchises.

That's why people say Jerry Buss "got the Lakers for free." He engineered a structure where the real estate carried the weight, and the basketball team became pure upside. He would later sell pieces of the land for enormous sums while watching the Lakers turn into a billion-dollar brand.

Data tells the story. The Lakers were valued at $16 million in 1979. By the time of Buss' passing in 2013, Forbes had the franchise pegged at over $1 billion. His original $16 million cash outlay had turned into an empire, all because he was willing to bet that land values in Southern California would soar.