Magic Johnson has built a wide-ranging sports investment portfolio that includes ownership interests in teams across the WNBA, MLB, MLS, NFL, and NWSL.
At Invest Fest 2025 in Atlanta, the NBA legend acknowledged that the Los Angeles Sparks ownership group had not made money from the franchise despite owning it since 2014. Johnson said the group had “not made a dime” and described the WNBA’s earlier financial environment as difficult.
Johnson also revealed that the owners had considered selling the Sparks but decided to hold on. With franchise values rising sharply, he said he was thankful they did not sell too early.
Magic Johnson’s rocky WNBA investment journey
Magic Johnson and Mark Walter led an ownership group that acquired the Los Angeles Sparks in February 2014. Johnson later said the group paid $10 million for the franchise.
At Invest Fest 2025 in Atlanta, Johnson reflected on the investment and said the owners had not made money from the Sparks. He described the WNBA’s earlier business environment as difficult before pointing to the league’s more recent growth.
Johnson’s comments framed the Sparks as a long-term investment whose rising franchise value could eventually produce a substantial return for the ownership group.
Why Johnson invested in the LA Sparks
The Sparks faced an uncertain future as they entered 2014 after their previous ownership group said it could no longer operate the franchise. The WNBA took control and sought new buyers, with relocation or contraction among the possible outcomes.
Johnson and Mark Walter stepped in with an investment group that kept one of the WNBA’s original franchises in Los Angeles. Johnson said at the time that the group was investing not only in the team but also in the city.
The purchase also carried a business objective. Johnson said in 2014 that the owners understood the financial challenge but still expected to eventually turn the Sparks into a profitable franchise.
Years without a financial payoff
Johnson has been unusually candid about the financial history of his Sparks investment. At Invest Fest 2025, he said the ownership group had not made money from the franchise and described the WNBA’s earlier business environment as difficult.
The league’s economics were far smaller when Johnson and his partners bought the team in 2014. The Sparks’ previous owner said her family lost $12 million operating the franchise after acquiring it in 2007, illustrating the financial challenges the team faced at the time.
Johnson’s ownership group nevertheless held on. As WNBA attendance, television audiences, media rights, and franchise valuations later surged, the potential value of that decision grew dramatically.
The moment the owners considered selling
Johnson revealed at Invest Fest 2025 that the Sparks ownership group had discussed selling the franchise during years when the investment was not generating a financial return.
The owners ultimately decided to hold on. Looking back as WNBA franchise values climbed, Johnson said he was thankful they had not sold too early and described the potential future return as remarkable.
He used the experience to offer the audience a broader investment lesson: valuable assets sometimes require patience before their potential becomes clear.
Little-known fact: In 1979, as the No. 1 draft pick, Johnson had Converse, Adidas, and Nike all courting him. The deal he ultimately chose left enormous money on the table compared to what he could have earned later.
The Sparks’ valuation keeps climbing
Women’s professional basketball surged in popularity beginning in 2024 and continued building momentum through 2025 and 2026. The WNBA set major viewership and attendance records, added expansion teams, and entered a new long-term media-rights era.
Forbes valued the Sparks at $350 million in its 2026 rankings, up 49% from $235 million in 2025. Forbes also estimated that the team generated $28 million in 2025 regular-season revenue, placing Los Angeles No. 7 among the 13 established franchises included in its ranking.
That valuation is dramatically higher than the $10 million purchase price Johnson says his ownership group paid in 2014. Johnson has described the potential return from holding the franchise as remarkable, although a franchise valuation reflects paper value rather than realized sale proceeds.
WNBA franchise values keep soaring
WNBA franchise values have continued to rise rapidly. Forbes’ 2026 ranking values the 13 franchises that competed before this season’s Toronto and Portland expansion teams at nearly $5.4 billion combined.
Those 13 teams carry an average Forbes valuation of $414 million, up 52% from the $272 million average in its 2025 ranking.
The Golden State Valkyries sit at the top of Forbes’ list with an estimated $780 million valuation after generating a league-record $78 million in revenue during their inaugural 2025 season. Other valuation firms have placed Golden State even higher.
Magic Johnson’s bigger sports investment empire
The Sparks are only one part of Johnson’s extensive sports portfolio. He bought a 4.5% stake in the Los Angeles Lakers for $10 million in 1994 and sold it in 2010.
In 2012, Johnson joined an investment group led by Mark Walter that acquired the Los Angeles Dodgers for about $2.15 billion. He remains a member of the Dodgers ownership group.
Johnson is also an investor in MLS’s Los Angeles FC and the NFL’s Washington Commanders. He joined the Commanders’ ownership group in 2023 and expanded further into women’s sports in 2024 by investing in the NWSL’s Washington Spirit.
Fun fact: Before building his empire, Johnson opened a sporting goods store called Magic 32. It shut down within a year, an early failure he later credited with teaching him real business lessons.
What this means for women’s sports investors
Johnson’s story offers a clear signal to anyone currently eyeing women’s sports franchises as investors. Early losses do not automatically predict long-term failure, especially inside a rapidly growing and increasingly popular professional league.
Investors watching the WNBA closely now see a market that finally rewards genuine patience above all else. Rising media rights deals and new expansion franchises suggest the league’s momentum could keep climbing much higher still.
For Johnson, the lesson learned feels remarkably simple after everything that has happened over the years. Never sell an asset too early, because sometimes the biggest financial wins arrive only after years of quiet waiting.
TL;DR
- Magic Johnson and Mark Walter led the ownership group that acquired the Los Angeles Sparks in February 2014; Johnson later said the group paid $10 million.
- At Invest Fest 2025, Johnson said the Sparks ownership group had not made money from the franchise.
- Johnson revealed that the owners once considered selling the Sparks but decided to hold on.
- Forbes now values the Sparks at $350 million, up 49% from 2025, and ranks them No. 7 among the 13 established teams in its 2026 ranking.
- Forbes values those 13 WNBA franchises at nearly $5.4 billion combined, with an average value of $414 million.
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This article was made with AI assistance and human editing.
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