The panel looks at the rise of sports franchises as an investment class through Peter Guber and Guggenheim Baseball Management’s historic Dodgers acquisition. In 2012, the group made what was then a record-setting multibillion-dollar bet on the franchise. Guggenheim Baseball Management agreed to pay $2 billion for the Dodgers and related assets, plus $150 million for a 50% interest in a joint venture involving surrounding property. Peter Guber joined Mark Walter, Magic Johnson and others in the ownership group. At the time, the price generated serious skepticism. The Los Angeles Times reported that the $2 billion team purchase was more than twice the previous record for a baseball franchise, while analysts questioned whether the economics could justify the unprecedented valuation. The clip’s 18% figure needs a date label. CAZ Investments reports that NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL franchise values compounded at roughly 18% annually from 2012–2022. More recent Arctos index data puts annualized sports-franchise returns around 13% over a longer 20-year period.
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