LOS ANGELES (AP) — Magic Johnson is about to learn $2 billion only buys you so much. Now he’ll need to bring the Los Angeles Dodgers the same success he brought the Lakers.

News that Johnson and his partners agreed to purchase the team sparked a groundswell of excited chatter and optimism Wednesday that the man who ran “Showtime” could restore luster to the once-proud franchise.

The amount Johnson and his partners are paying would be mind-blowing if it was just for the team itself. But it also gives Johnson’s group the right to reel in future riches from TV and real estate associated with the Dodgers.

“A big part of the purchase price is all those other things,” said David Carter, executive director of USC Sports Business Institute. “You’ve got a great piece of property you can develop and make a game-day experience around Chavez Ravine. A likely billion-dollar cable (television) rights deal that will come out of it makes it a very unique sale.”

Current owner Frank McCourt handpicked Johnson’s group to buy the Dodgers on Tuesday, just five hours after Major League Baseball approved three finalists in a bankruptcy auction. The deal is one of several steps toward a sale of the team by the end of April. It is subject to approval by a federal bankruptcy judge.

“The interest in this franchise and its historic sale price are profound illustrations of the great overall health of our industry,” baseball Commissioner Bud Selig said. “This has been a long, difficult process, and I once again want to thank the great Dodger fans for their loyalty and patience.”

Selig has the right to review the final agreement. If MLB has any objections, it would bring them up with mediator Joseph Farnan Jr.

Johnson’s group would gain the ability to sell the Dodgers’ local broadcasting rights starting with games in 2014. It likely would use money gained from the rights sale — or from the team’s own network with outside investment — and use those funds to pay down the acquisition debt. The team’s debt stood at $579 million as of January, according to a court filing.

Johnson is seemingly a perfect fit. He lives locally, he already knows what it takes to win championships, and he’s proven he can succeed in real estate, retail and entertainment — keys to helping the team bolster its coffers in pursuit of big-money free agents.