What do 40 Gulf Stream jets, a lifetime supply of Donald Trump’s hair products and the Los Angeles Dodgers have in common?
They all cost $2 billion.
On Tuesday, a group called Guggenheim Baseball Management LLC ponied up just over two billion greenbacks to lay claim to the Dodger franchise after a nasty divorce between the previous owners, Frank and Jamie McCourt, forced the team onto the market.
The $2.15 billion purchase, led by Laker legend Magic Johnson and über film producer Peter Gruber, not only set the record for the most expensive acquisition of a sports franchise, it obliterated it.
Previously, the record amount paid for a sports team was the 2005 procurement of Manchester United for $1.47 billion. Add a half billion dollars more to that figure, and you come up with what a top-three market baseball team goes for these days.
For a perspective on the astronomical nature of the Dodgers deal, let’s take a look at the top 10 most expensive sports franchise purchases of all-time.