Boston Celtics’ majority owner puts team up for sale weeks after NBA championship

The
2024
National
Basketball
Association
champions
are
up
for
sale.

The
Boston
Celtics’
ownership
group
announced
Monday
that
it
plans
to
sell
the
team,
according
to
a

statement
posted
to
the
Celtics’
account
on
social
media
site
X.

The
controlling
family
of
the
ownership
group,
Boston
Basketball
Partners
LLC,
said
it
intends
to
sell
all
of
its
shares
in
the
team
“for
estate
and
family
planning
consideration.”

The
sale
of
a
majority
stake
is
expected
to
be
completed
by
the
end
of
2024
or
early
2025,
with
the
remainder
of
the
sale
closing
in
2028,
according
to
the
statement.

As
sports
franchise
valuations
soar,
the
Celtics
could
fetch
a
particularly
high
price.
The
team
is
among
the
most
successful
and
most
widely
followed
in
U.S.
professional
sports,
and
won
its
NBA
record
18th
championship
last
month.

This,
plus
the
soaring
cost
of
sports
media
rights,
will
likely
lead
to
a
valuation
close
to
—
if
not
more
than
—
the
record
$4
billion
price
tag
the
NBA’s
Phoenix
Suns
received
in
2023,
sports
consultants
said
Monday.

Wyc
Grousbeck
led
a
team
of
buyers
to
acquire
the
Celtics
for
$360
million
in
2002.
Grousbeck,
a
native
of
Massachusetts
and
lifelong
Celtics
fan,
expects
to
remain
governor
of
the
team
until
the
second
closing
in
2028.

Grousbeck
is
also
part
of
the

ownership
group
behind
the
tequila
brand
Cincoro,
which
includes
other
NBA
team
owners
and
Hall
of
Famer
Michael
Jordan.

Representatives
for
Grousbeck
and
the
team
did
not
immediately
respond
to
CNBC’s
requests
for
comment.

The
Celtics
became
the
latest
NBA
champions
after
beating
the
Dallas
Mavericks
in
Game
5
of
the
Finals
in
June.
It
was
the
team’s
second
championship
under
Grousbeck’s
ownership.

U.S.
professional
sports
teams,
especially
those
in
the
National
Football
League
and
NBA,
have
been
garnering
high
valuations
when
owners
sell
a
stake,
if
not
the
entirety
of
the
team.

In
2023,
the
NBA’s
Phoenix
Suns
and
WNBA’s
Phoenix
Mercury

were
sold
to
Mat
Ishbia
for
a
record
valuation
of
$4
billion.

Meanwhile,
the
media
rights
for
the
leagues
have
never
been
more
lucrative,
as
live
sports
beckon
the
biggest
TV
audiences.

Negotiations
surrounding
the
NBA’s
media
rights
are

ongoing
with
an
announcement
expected
soon.


Comcast‘s
NBCUniversal
is
expected
to
pay
$2.5
billion
per
year,
with


Disney‘s
ESPN
and


Amazon’s
Prime
Video
among
the
other
bidders,
CNBC
has
previously

reported.

—
CNBC’s
Jessica
Golden
contributed
to
this
article.

Disclosure:
NBCUniversal
is
the
parent
company
of
CNBC.