Mark Walter is selling off sports entities including the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers and Premier League's Chelsea FC, all amid ongoing financial investigations. Despite the unrest, the PWHL confirms there is absolutely no expected change to league ownership.
Mark Walter is liquidating sporting assets selling the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers and his stake in the Premier's League's Chelsea FC. All this comes as Walter looks to settle investigations into his finances, namely related investments from a pair of insurance companies into other Walter-related companies.
It's a tactic he used in 2012 to purchase MLB's Los Angeles Dodgers, and after buying the Los Angeles Lakers in 2025, and swiftly selling them again in 2026 amid investigations from federal prosecutors, the SEC, and FBI, Walter finds himself under a magnifying glass.
The rapid sell off of sporting entities sparked concern that the PWHL and the league's now 12 teams could be next.
That fear however, appears unfounded according to a league spokesperson.
“Absolutely no expected change to ownership of PWHL," the PWHL wrote to The Hockey News when asked about potential sales of the PWHL's teams or the league itself following Mark Walter's recent moves.
The other sales could be tied to Walter's Delaware Life needing to slash $6.5 billion in related loans and investments, along with Cedar Springs Life needing to move $90 million in related dealings.
It all comes after the companies initially reported only $1 billion in related-part investments, a number which was later revealed to be at least $16 billion drawing attention from federal regulators.
Walter financed the PWHL's launch in 2023 as a six-team loop. Last season the league expanded to eight teams, including their first franchises on the west coach in Vancouver and Seattle. The league expanded by four more teams after only their third season of operation and are set to enter the 2026-27 season as a 12-team circuit.
