As Mark Walter deals with the ramifications of his financial investments, one MLB expert has pointed out a significant nightmare scenario that is on the table for the LA Dodgers.
In the last few weeks, amid an investigation led by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) into his finances, Mark Walter has been offloading significant business ventures.
Walter sold the Los Angeles Lakers to Bob Iger and Josh Kushner last week, just a year after buying the team, and is looking to sell his equity in BlueCo, the consortium he helped form with Todd Boehly to buy Chelsea FC in 2022.
Mark Walter’s $20 billion debt could force LA Dodgers sale
According to MLB expert Eric Jackson, Mark Walter is under significant pressure to alleviate close to $20 million in debt off of his lenders’ books by the end of this year.
Jackson said that the Lakers’ $12.2 billion sale last week only covers a third of the total debt that needs to be cleared, and provided four possible solutions that Walter could pursue.
“Mark Walter has to take roughly $20 billion of loans off his insurers by December 31. There are 4 ways to do that.”
- “Sell the loans: nobody buys paper that is under a grand jury subpoena.”
- “Grow the balance sheet: the company would have to be 4 times bigger in 2 quarters.”
- “Reinsure a block: that hands over the good assets and leaves the loans, so the ratio goes UP.”
- “Sell things and repay in cash.”
“The Lakers covered a third of what he needs. Mark Walter still has to unload the Dodgers.”
If the LA Lakers’ $12.2 billion sale is worth just a third of the total debt that Walter needs to clear, one can imagine that the total debt was somewhere in the $30-$36 billion range.
According to Forbes, the LA Dodgers are valued at $7.8 billion, which wouldn’t be nearly enough to cover the remaining debts that the owner has to alleviate.
On top of that, the Dodgers have been signing high-profile players like Shohei Ohtani to massive nine-figure contracts that span close to a decade.
Shohei and many such players agreed to defer their wages until years later, which would impact the value of the team, given their future arrears.
However, what should be noted is that the Lakers, whom Walter bought in 2025, had been valued at $7.2 billion the year prior to Walter’s $10 billion purchase of the team.
So it is very possible that Walter will be able to fetch a high price for the team, especially considering how he managed to turn a $2 billion profit when selling the Lakers just a year later.
But for Walter, having to sell the team he has owned for almost 15 years now will likely be a last resort to avoid any financial strain or federal sanctions.
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