* Deal values Lakers at record $12.5 billion, awaits NBA Board of Governors approval

* S&P Global estimates US sports media rights hit $29.5 billion in 2025

* Lakers valuation jumps 25% from Mark Walter's $10 billion deal 14 months ago

By Amy Tennery

NEW YORK, Aug 13 (Reuters) - The blockbuster sale of the Los Angeles Lakers this week keeps alive a sports gold rush among North America's billionaire elite, with pricey media rights, skyrocketing attendance and insatiable fans helping drive prices sky-high.

Venture capitalist Joshua Kushner and former Disney CEO Bob Iger are set to purchase the team, with the deal valued at a record $12.5 billion and pending approval from the National Basketball Association's Board of Governors.

The deal, shocking for both its price tag and timing, comes just 14 months after Mark Walter purchased a majority stake in the team in a deal that valued it at a then-record $10 billion.

The 25% jump in the Lakers' valuation in just over a year sets a fresh benchmark for other team owners weighing what their franchises could be worth.

"The NBA Board of Governors will certainly be excited by the fact that a franchise has expanded so rapidly in value," said famed sports agent ​Leigh Steinberg.

"At the end of the day, ownership is about franchise value. And this blows out the market and creates all sorts of valuations for other franchises that they're jumping head over heels over."

'WE HAD 14 BIDDERS'

The deal is the latest in a series of team sales at record or near-record prices across North America.

In July, the estate of Paul Allen agreed to sell the Seattle Seahawks for $9.61 billion, an NFL record. The San Diego Padres agreed to sell to an ownership group led by Jose E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones in April for a reported $3.9 billion, an MLB record.

Salvatore Galatioto, whose eponymous sports finance and advisory business has been involved in more than 120 transactions, said sports' appeal lies in its reliable ability to bring in live audiences in a competitive media landscape.

U.S. television and streaming sports media rights climbed to an estimated $29.5 billion in 2025, up from an estimated $14.64 billion 10 years prior, according to S&P Global.

The firm estimates sports rights could climb to $37 billion by 2030, with the enduring appeal of live sports a boon in a fragmented media market.

"There's no other media content like sports. Media content value is a main driver here," said Galatioto.

"As technology continues to improve and people can edit out the commercials and watch their favorite shows whenever they want, you can't do that with sports. Ninety-nine point five percent of people watch sports, watch it live. So it's unique."

Galatioto Sports Partners oversaw the sale of the NHL's middle-market Ottawa Senators in 2023 for nearly a billion dollars - a National Hockey League team record at the time that was quickly eclipsed, with the sale of the Montreal Canadiens announced months later for a reported $2.5 billion.

"Ottawa is the 44th largest market in North America. You can't take a flight from Kennedy or LaGuardia nonstop to Ottawa," said Galatioto. "The team plays in an old building - and we had 14 bidders."

Viewership is up across all of the "big four" men's North American leagues, with the NFL reporting a 10% uptick from 2024 to 2025. ESPN's ( DIS ) NHL viewership climbed nearly 40% year-on-year through the first four months of the 2025-26 season.

"The purchase of a franchise, given exploding TV revenue packages, given the multiple ancillary streams of revenue -whether it's stadium or arena naming rights, whether it's fantasy sports, whether it's merchandising - it all is exploding and dominating in a way that, let's say, the movie business did some time ago," said Steinberg.

MORE FANS, MORE MONEY

The rise in franchise values has also broadened the pool of investors looking to own professional sports teams, from traditional billionaires to private equity executives and other financial investors.

Iger's 2024 purchase of National Women's Soccer League team Angel City FC for $250 million made it the world's most valuable women's sports team, a distinction long ago wiped out by multiple WNBA teams, including expansion franchise Golden State Valkyries, whom Sportico valued at $850 million in May this year.

His purchase of the Lakers with Kushner only adds luster to a growing sports empire.

"The NBA has 30 teams. As our population has grown, as our income has grown, the number of sports teams has stayed the same. That doesn't happen in other industries," said Andrew Zimbalist, a professor at Smith College who has consulted for players, teams and leagues.

That scarcity is a key feature of the market for sports franchises: unlike most corporate assets, the supply of major teams is largely fixed, while their potential revenue streams continue to expand.

Zimbalist noted that the rise of sports betting has also spurred more fan engagement and attendance. The Supreme Court paved the way for the legalization of sports betting eight years ago.

Leagues have eagerly jumped on, with sports books available to fans on their phones and inside arenas and stadiums.

It is a Faustian bargain, according to experts, that has also seen players and coaches run afoul of betting rules, undermining the credibility of sports but is here to stay.

"Sports betting is increasing attendance at the games. It's increasing the number of eyeballs that are watching streaming channels," said Zimbalist. "It's increasing the intensity of fandom, the avidity." (Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York; editing by Echo Wang in New York)