Los Angeles Lakers Royalty Could Join the A's Ownership Picture
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The A's have been saying for months now that they have the financing for the new ballpark under control, yet they would welcome local Las Vegas investors into their project, if that opportunity presented itself. Recently it was reported by the Los Angeles Times that Joey and Jesse Buss, sons of the legendary Jerry Buss, are potentially interested in an ownership stake in the A's.
Per the Times, "Joey and Jesse Buss, fired last month as Lakers executives, have explored pursuing an ownership stake in baseball’s Athletics, according to two people familiar with the discussions but not authorized to speak publicly about them...The discussions were described as preliminary, and it is unclear whether they might result in a deal."
The Buss bros were relieved of their roles within the team after the sale of the franchise to LA Dodgers owner Mark Walter became the majority owner of the Lakers. Following that sale, the brothers have seemingly come into some money, and they're looking to invest it.
The Buss family just cashed in — big.
— Sports Business Journal (@SBJ) November 24, 2025
The Lakers’ longtime owners sold their 66% stake to Mark Walter in a record $10B deal, the richest valuation in U.S. sports history.
Each of the six Buss siblings is reportedly walking away with nearly $1B, while the family still keeps a… pic.twitter.com/LneLtwCoQa
One piece that is interesting here is if the Buss brothers and A's owner John Fisher were to move forward together, would Major League Baseball allow that partnership? The answer is likely yes, but the only potential hurdle would be the connection between Walter (Dodgers' owner) being with the Lakers, as well as the Busses.
The fact that the Buss brothers don't have a stake in the Dodgers should be enough to put MLB at ease, but it's something they could choose to raise a stink about.
Based off of the reporting, we still don't know how much of a stake the being discussed in these preliminary discussions, if that even came up at all.
Bill Shaikin also seems to also point out that the team is using an even higher valuation than before, when they'd been looking for investors at a $2 billion valuation. Now, Shaikin says, "Fisher has since used a higher valuation in soliciting investors. CNBC last year estimated the A’s franchise value at $2 billion, Forbes at $1.8 billion, and Sportico at $1.6 billion."
That would certainly be an interesting development in this entire relocation saga.
The A's are standing firm that the Las Vegas ballpark will be ready to go by opening day, 2028. The project is expected to cost at least $2 billion, and will seat 33,000 fans once completed and will have a fixed dome roof once completed.
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Jason has been covering the A’s at various sites for over a decade, and was the original host of the Locked on A’s podcast. He also covers the Stanford Cardinal as they attempt to rebuild numerous programs to prominence.
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