Ownership shifts reshape iconic sports teams as pro leagues expand and valuations surge in 2025

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Two of the NBA’s most decorated franchises changed ownership this year.

The WNBA’s growing popularity has fueled plans for multiple expansion teams in the coming years.

Hurricane Milton severely damaged Tropicana Field, which forced the Rays to play home games at George M. Steinbrenner Field — the spring training home of the New York Yankees — in 2025 before new ownership clarified the team’s future.

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Growth in U.S. women’s professional soccer further underscored the broader impact sports had in 2025.

Here’s a look at some of the biggest sports ownership changes, league expansions and other stories that defined the year.

In June, the Buss family entered a purchase agreement for the Los Angeles Lakers with Guggenheim Partners CEO Mark Walter for a valuation of approximately $10 billion. The figure represented the highest valuation on record for a U.S. professional sports team. 

While the deal transferred majority ownership to Walter, the Buss family retained a minority stake in the franchise. Jeanie Buss continues to represent the Lakers on the NBA’s board of governors.

Los Angeles Lakers owner Jeanie Buss attends media day at the UCLA Health and Training Center in El Segundo, California, on Sept. 28, 2021. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea/USA TODAY Sports)

The deal also included guarantees giving Buss the power to continue overseeing the franchise’s day-to-day basketball operations for "at least a number of years," ESPN reported at the time.

Elsewhere, in August, the NBA Board of Governors backed a Bill Chisholm-led investor group gaining controlling interest in the Boston Celtics. The deal was