Imagine being so rich that you buy a basketball team on a whim, like a guy grabbing a pack of gum at the checkout counter. That’s basically what Jerry Buss did in 1979. But the price tag? It’s a number that sounds like a typo today: $67.5 million. Yep, for less than the cost of a modern superstar’s contract extension, Buss snagged the entire Los Angeles Lakers franchise—plus the NHL’s Kings and the Fabulous Forum arena.
Let that sink in. Today, a single Lakers player—like LeBron James or Anthony Davis—will earn more in two seasons than Buss paid for the whole shebang. The current team is worth over $7 billion, so Buss essentially bought a decade’s worth of championships for the price of a modest suburban mansion in Beverly Hills. If you’d invested in the Lakers back then, you’d be richer than a dragon hoarding gold.
Now, here’s where the story gets weirdly hilarious. Buss didn’t buy the team with his own cash—he borrowed the money. Imagine walking into a bank and saying, “I’d like a loan for $67.5 million to buy a basketball team and a hockey team, please, and I’ll throw in a skate rink full of screaming fans.” And the bank said, “Okay, have fun!” At the time, the Lakers were a mess—they had just been swept in the playoffs, and no one saw the dynasty coming.
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The Jack Kent Cooke Fiasco
The previous owner, a grumpy businessman named Jack Kent Cooke, had built the Forum and owned both teams. He was so flush with cash that he also owned a horse named Stymie—yes, a racehorse—which he used to buy the Lakers in the first place. But Cooke had a falling out with his wife, and in the divorce, she ended up with the Kings. So, to settle the whole mess, he sold everything to Buss in a deal that was less a negotiation and more a “please just take this headache off my hands.”
Buss’s purchase price included the Forum, where the Lakers played. That building was notorious for having a purple velvet curtain behind the baskets, because Cooke loved theater aesthetics. Buss kept the curtain, but he replaced the stale popcorn with Showtime. The price tag also covered the rights to a young point guard named Magic Johnson, whom Buss had the foresight to draft just months after buying the team. Talk about a bargain—Magic alone is worth double the purchase price in highlight reels.
How Much Did Jerry Buss Buy the Lakers for? Find Out – Hollywood Life
What $67.5 Million Actually Got You
Let’s break down the deal like a late-night infomercial. For your $67.5 million, you got:
- A basketball team that would win five championships in the next decade.
- A hockey team (the Kings) that would eventually move and become successful, but at the time was laughed at.
- A building with a weird skate rink underneath the basketball court, because Cooke built it for ice skating too.
- A popcorn machine that Buss’s son later claimed was broken half the time.
In today’s money, adjusted for inflation, that’s around $280 million—still a steal. In 2024, the Lakers’ annual revenue is over $500 million. So Buss’s investment paid for itself in less than a year of modern profit.
The Crazy Part: Buss Almost Didn’t Buy Them
Here’s the punchline: Jerry Buss was a real estate mogul who made his fortune building apartment complexes. He didn’t even like basketball that much at first—he was a tennis guy. But a friend convinced him that buying the Lakers would be a great way to meet movie stars. Buss, a notorious playboy, thought, “Sure, I’ll buy a team to get a better date.” And it worked! He became a legend, dating models and actresses while his team racked up titles.
How Did Jerry Buss Buy the Lakers? HBO 'Winning Time' True Story
If Buss had said no, the Lakers might have been sold to a group that moved them to Kansas City or San Diego. Can you imagine? No Magic, no Kobe, no Shaq, no LeBron? The NBA would be a darker place, probably with fewer sequined jackets on the sidelines. Jerry Buss saved basketball fashion by buying a team for the price of a modern superyacht.
The Final Laugh
So, how much did Jerry Buss buy the Lakers for? $67.5 million—a number so small it feels like a typo in a billionaire’s checkbook. He bought the glory, the drama, the cheerleaders, the championships, and a hockey team he didn’t even want. Today, that same team is worth 100 times more, and Buss’s estate still owns a controlling share. Not bad for a guy who just wanted to chat up starlets at courtside.
The lesson? If you ever see a struggling sports team for sale, buy it. Beg, borrow, or steal the cash, because history might repeat itself. Just don’t expect to get a free popcorn machine in the deal—those things are expensive now.