The Clippers’ price tag could catch on
The world of business has been abuzz about the $2 billion sale of the Los Angeles Clippers to former Microsoft executive Steve Ballmer, and for good reason — $2 billion is nearly quadruple the previous record for an NBA team (last month’s $550 million price tag for the Milwaukee Bucks).
“I think this sets a new bar for pricing,” says Matt Powell analyst with SportsOneSource. “It’s like the real estate market, right? What’s your comparable? And I think this is always going to be thrown up in people’s faces about what a team is worth.”
$2 billion might not be as crazy as it sounds when you consider a couple of factors, like “the size of the LA market and the fact that there’s a big pending TV contract coming up and quite a few interested bidders,” says David Carter, director of USC’s Sports Business Institute. “The number on the surface seems a little bit high, but when you peel it back, ultimately, it might make sense.”
The Clippers brought in an estimated $128 million dollars in revenue last year, according to Forbes. That’s a far cry from $2 billion, but sports teams tend to be reliable earners. “Franchise values are going to continue to climb,” says Carter. “We’ve seen nothing short of a real appetite for sports content and fans consuming it so many different ways.”
Carter also points out that a team like the Clippers actually coming up for sale is a rare window of opportunity.
There’s a lot happening in the world. Through it all, Marketplace is here for you.
You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible.
Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.
