Los Angeles Lakers ticket prices could see a sharp increase as incoming owners Joshua Kushner and Bob Iger plan to cut out brokers and take control of the resale market. This strategy, modeled on the Dodgers' playbook, might push the average ticket cost from $217 to $361.
The main reason is a shift in business strategy by the new ownership group. Thrive Eternal, the sports company run by Joshua Kushner, is pitching investors on eliminating ticket brokers. This move aims to maximize control and increase the value of tickets directly. The reported $361 average price is a projection shown to potential investors to illustrate potential revenue gains, not an immediate price announcement. The NBA has not yet approved the sale to Kushner and former Disney CEO Bob Iger, who agreed to buy a controlling stake last month at a $12.5 billion valuation.
It borrows directly from the Los Angeles Dodgers' successful model. Teams have traditionally sold blocks of season tickets to brokers. Those brokers then resold them, taking on the risk for less popular games. By cutting out the middleman, the team itself assumes that risk. They use dynamic pricing, constantly adjusting costs based on real-time supply and demand. For popular teams like the Lakers, who played to 99.8% capacity last season, the math is simple. Selling a $100 ticket directly for $200, instead of to a broker, lets the team keep the entire $100 difference.
The sequence of games, in order from most recent, was a win, a loss, another loss, a win, and a win. This data is available on our stats page. Under previous owner Mark Walter, the Lakers already announced significant price hikes for the 2026-27 season. No announcements have been made for seasons beyond that.
The direct consequence is likely higher costs for attending games at Crypto.com Arena. The Dodgers' experience shows that with this model, the cheapest tickets rarely drop to a true market rate. The team would rather have a few empty seats than train fans to wait for last-minute deals. For the Lakers, a franchise with immense global popularity, demand is expected to remain high regardless of price adjustments. The investor presentation highlighted how ticket prices have risen across the entire NBA, suggesting this is a league-wide trend. The focus for the new basketball operations team, including former Heat executive Eric Amsler as an assistant GM, will be maintaining a competitive product that justifies the premium cost for fans.
