The Lakers as an amortization schedule: what Kushner's $12.5B is really buying

Thrive Capital founder Joshua Kushner has agreed with former Disney CEO Bob Iger to buy the Los Angeles Lakers for $12.5 billion, a deal that would leave the pair holding about 83% of the franchise after the Buss family agreed to sell ^[1][2]. The interesting part for operators is not the trophy; it is the depreciation schedule that comes attached to it.

Ram Ahluwalia, founder of Lumida Wealth Management, posted on X over the weekend that the purchase is "a powerful tax shield" and added, "My guess is he is preparing to offset a boatload of carried interest income. If you own a sports team, done correctly, you can get a deduction against income" ^[3]. That is explicitly a guess, not disclosure. Ahluwalia also noted that Kushner is likely facing large gains from holdings including SpaceX, OpenAI and Stripe ^[4].

The mechanics are well established. Owners amortize assets such as media rights and depreciate others, including player contracts and the stadium, which lowers the tax bill even while the franchise appreciates and its operations turn a profit ^[5][6]. A roster counts as an intangible asset that depreciates, generating paper losses against an owner's taxable income elsewhere, and as much as 80% of a team's value can consist of intangibles, goodwill included ^[7][8]. Fortune notes the deduction profile is more favorable than owning real estate ^[9].

Sports analyst Joe Pompliano predicted on X last week that once the deal closes the buyers will allocate 90% or more of the price to intangible assets and amortize them over 15 years under Section 197, deducting the amortization against team income ^[10]. Run that against the headline number: 90% of $12.5 billion is $11.25 billion, which over 15 years is roughly $750 million a year of amortization ^[11]. That is the actual size of the shield being discussed, and it is worth noting Pompliano's assumed allocation sits above the "as much as 80%" intangible share Fortune cites as typical ^[12].

There is also a gap between the two experts quoted. Pompliano describes deductions taken against team income ^[10]. Ahluwalia describes offsetting carried interest income, which is a different and larger claim about where the losses land ^[3]. Fortune's piece does not reconcile the two, and neither should a reader. Franchise paper losses reaching a fund manager's carry is a question of structure and participation, not of headline price.

The pattern in Kushner's franchise activity is more churn than accumulation. He held a minority stake in the Memphis Grizzlies, sold it, bought a small stake in the Miami Heat that he must now sell to complete the Lakers deal, and bought a minority stake in the San Francisco Giants earlier this year ^[13][14].

Watch three things. Whether the deal is approved at all, since Jeanie Buss is legally contesting her siblings' plan to sell ^[15]. Whether the purchase price allocation at close matches Pompliano's 90% forecast, because that number is the deduction ^[10]. And whether the Heat stake sale clears on schedule, since it is a condition of the Lakers purchase ^[14].