Mark Walter breaks silence on future of Dodgers ownership as he continues to shed assets

Los Angeles Dodgers owner Mark Walter is the subject of two federal investigations into alleged fraud on the life insurance side of his expansive portfolio, which bled into his dealings as the owner of multiple sports franchises, both LA-based and international.

The trouble started when Walter sold majority ownership of the Los Angeles Lakers to Joshua Kushner and former Disney CEO Bob Iger after just about a year of ownership. He's since ceded his shares of the Premier League's Chelsea FC and is reportedly looking to sell the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks.

After the Lakers sale, Dodgers president Stan Kasten said, "This is a Lakers story. It's not really a Dodgers story." People around Walter have been firm about his intention to keep the Dodgers, widely thought of as the crown jewel of his portfolio.

But fans haven't heard much from Walter himself — which is probably wise, given the federal probes — until now.

In an interview with the California Post, he reiterated that he will be keeping the team. "We're going to keep the team no matter what. We're going to be winning for 10 years or more. I think our commitment to do so will be just like it has been in the past. And, you know, we don't win every year, but we're going to try to."

Mark Walter reaffirms commitment to keeping the Dodgers despite federal investigations

Little information has been made public since Pablo Torre's bombshell investigation, but Walter's alleged intention to sell the Sparks was reported by Bloomberg as recently as October 23, which inevitably leads to assumptions that Walter is still looking for quick cash. The future of the Walter-owned Professional Women's Hockey League also seems murky.

The Dodgers' brass has mostly seemed unfazed. If anything, Kasten has been almost irritable about the questions surrounding Walter's future with the team.

Andrew Friedman said during the Dodgers' end-of-season press conference: "So much of his focus was on, 'OK, what can we do? What are our plans? What are our thoughts for the offseason?' And our brains weren't quite there yet, but so much of his focus was: 'How do we put ourselves in the best position to win in '27?'"

It's pretty clear that Walter will do anything to keep the Dodgers, even if it means sacrificing his other assets. That's reassuring, but against the backdrop of two federal investigations, it's impossible to feel too safe.

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