Magic Johnson may be expanding his sports empire to football. The Los Angeles Lakers legend and part owner of multiple professional sports franchises is reportedly in talks to buy a stake in the Las Vegas Raiders.
According to Liz Hoffman and Reed Albergotti of Semafor, Johnson has recently begun putting together investors with the aim of purchasing a portion of the Raiders from family of the late Al Davis. While Johnson's group has spoken with team ownership, no deal is imminent.
Johnson has been assembling a team of investors in recent weeks for a minority slice of the Raiders, which is majority owned by the family of the late Al Davis, the people said. One of them said the group was conducting due diligence with the team. A deal hasn’t been finalized and could still fall apart.
The specific purchase price for Johnson's percentage of the team is unknown, but could reportedly “set a new record for sports deals.”
Forbes reported in August that Raiders controlling owner Mark Davis had received an offer for an undisclosed minority stake in the the team. The same report also listed Las Vegas' total value at a professional sports record of $6.5 billion, including $1.3 billion in debt primarily related to the financing of Allegiant Stadium.
The Raiders relocated to Las Vegas from Oakland in 2020. The city of Oakland sued the franchise due to an alleged violation of antitrust law as a result of its move, seeking $240 million in compensation for lost tax revenue and investment. The U.S. Supreme Court opted against hearing an appeal from the city of Oakland earlier this month.
Johnson, a five-time champion with the “Showtime” Lakers of the 1980s and post-career entrepreneur with an estimated net worth of $620 million, owns stakes in the Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Sparks. He also owned a share of the Lakers before selling in 2010.
[Semafor]
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