Jeanie Buss Out as Lakers Governor as Buss Family Sells Remaining Ownership Stake

Jeanie Buss is out as governor of the Los Angeles Lakers. The Buss family has agreed to sell its remaining 17.8% stake in the franchise to incoming majority owners Josh Kushner and Bob Iger, a move that ends 47 years of family control and strips Jeanie of the board seat that requires a minimum 15% ownership stake to hold, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.

The decision comes just days after Kushner and Iger struck a deal to buy the Lakers from Mark Walter at a $12.5 billion valuation, a record for any professional sports franchise sale in North American history. The Buss Family Trust — made up of siblings Jeanie, Jim, Johnny, Janie, Joey and Jesse — exercised a tag-along provision tied to Walter’s sale, needing four of six sibling votes to greenlight cashing out entirely rather than staying on as minority partners.

The End of a 47-Year Family Run

Jerry Buss bought the Lakers in 1979 for $67.5 million. When he died in 2013, Jeanie took over as governor, steering the franchise through the Kobe Bryant farewell tour, the Anthony Davis trade, two more championship banners and, most recently, the Luka Doncic era. The family sold its controlling interest to Walter last year in a deal valuing the team at $10 billion, with Jeanie’s agreement stipulating she would remain governor for at least five years — through 2030. That plan collapsed in barely 10 months once Walter turned around and flipped his stake to Kushner and Iger.

“We have decided as a family to sell the remaining Buss Family Trust shares to the Bob Iger group as part of the ongoing transaction,” the family said in a statement to ESPN. “We love the Lakers, Laker fans and will continue to support Los Angeles; but it is time to use this opportunity to move on and exit gracefully while we still can.”

With the additional Buss shares layered onto their existing agreement with Walter, Kushner and Iger’s combined ownership stake climbs to roughly 83% of the franchise. The full transaction still needs sign-off from the NBA’s Board of Governors, whose next scheduled meeting falls on Sept. 15-16 in New York. Kushner is also required to divest his limited ownership stake in the Miami Heat before that approval can move forward.

What It Means for the Betting Market

For bettors, the headline number is the ownership change itself rather than anything shifting on the court, and the futures market has treated it that way. The Lakers’ 2026-27 championship odds have sat in roughly the same range across sportsbooks in the days surrounding both this news and last week’s $12.5 billion sale report, with lines in the low-to-mid +4000s to +5500 depending on the book — still well outside the handful of favorites at the top of the board. Their season win total has been set at 44.5, another marker that reflects the roster in front of new ownership rather than anything about who signs the checks behind it.

That stability makes sense to anyone who prices championship futures for a living: those markets are built off the roster, the coaching staff and the schedule, not off boardroom paperwork. A record-breaking valuation and a governor losing her seat are massive stories in the business of sports, but they don’t touch who suits up for Los Angeles this season. What bettors and oddsmakers will be watching instead is what happens next — whether a full transition away from the last Buss family involvement changes anything about front-office philosophy, spending appetite or roster-building approach once Kushner and Iger have complete control with no need to answer to anyone connected to the team’s founding family.

Futures markets tend to move on those decisions, not on transaction announcements. Any signal from the new ownership group on payroll flexibility, coaching security or long-term roster construction in the weeks ahead is the kind of development that could actually nudge Los Angeles’ title price — something worth tracking for anyone holding a futures ticket on the Lakers heading into the 2026-27 season.