American billionaire Magic Johnson's LA Sparks put up for sale at $700 million

The Los Angeles Sparks, the Women's National Basketball Association team that American billionaire Magic Johnson co-owns with Dodgers chairman Mark Walter, are up for sale, with Walter seeking more than $700 million for the franchise and its new practice facility.

The asking price would set a record for a WNBA team, more than double the $300 million that Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta paid for the Connecticut Sun in May. The Sun are due to move to Houston for the 2027 season. Talks over the Sparks are at an early stage, and no deal has been announced.

The sale would include a 55,000-square-foot training center that the team is building in El Segundo, California, for $150 million. When the Sparks announced the project in September 2025, they called it the largest investment by a single team in the history of women's sports. It is due to open before the 2027 season.

Industry estimates in April put the value of the Sparks at about $400 million, seventh in the league, behind the Golden State Valkyries at $850 million and the New York Liberty at $600 million. Walter's price reflects both the team and the facility.

Walter's sell-off

The Sparks are the latest sports asset that Walter, the chief executive of Guggenheim Partners, has moved to sell this year. In August, he agreed to sell his controlling stake in the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers to a group led by former Walt Disney Co. chief Bob Iger and investor Josh Kushner at a valuation of $12.5 billion. He also sold his stake of nearly 13% in Chelsea Football Club to Clearlake Capital and exited French club Strasbourg.

The sales come as federal prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission examine whether Walter's insurance companies properly disclosed billions of dollars in loans to businesses tied to him. Walter has not been charged. TWG Global, his holding company, has denied that it is selling sports assets at "fire sale" prices to support its insurers, and has said the Dodgers are not for sale. Walter also keeps his stake in the Cadillac Formula One team and full ownership of the Professional Women's Hockey League.

A 2014 rescue

Johnson and Walter led the group that bought the Sparks in February 2014, saving the team from relocation. The buyers included their partners from Guggenheim Baseball Management, which had bought the Dodgers two years earlier for $2.15 billion. Eric Holoman, a longtime Johnson business partner, is the Sparks' managing partner and governor.

The Sparks finished this season 16-28 and missed the playoffs. When the new facility was announced, Johnson said it "will be the best in all of the WNBA."

Johnson, 67, won five championships with the Lakers in the 1980s and built a second career in business through Magic Johnson Enterprises, which has invested in insurance, real estate, food service and sports. He is also a part-owner of the Dodgers and the Washington Commanders of the National Football League.