Report: Celtics Sold for $6.1B; Largest Sale of Sports Team in North American History

A group led by Bill Chisholm agreed to purchase the Boston Celtics for $6.1 billion, according to ESPN's Shams Charania.

This would be the highest fee ever paid for an American sports franchise, surpassing the $6.05 billion price tag for the NFL's Washington Commanders in 2023.

Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe reported Wyc Grousbeck is expected to stay in his role as the team governor for the time being.

Grousbeck, one of the organization's co-owners, announced in 2024 he and his family were looking to sell their ownership stake. They set early 2025 as the date for identifying a buyer, and the process may drag on into 2028. The timeline appears to remain the same.

Himmelsbach described Chisholm as a "longtime Celtics fan." His Massachusetts ties will help ease the concerns that always come up with an ownership change. There are never any guarantees the new regime will be an improvement over the old one.

Steve Pagliuca, a current partner in the Celtics along with Grousbeck, expressed disappointment that his group's bid wasn't accepted over Chisholm's.

"We made a fully guaranteed and financed offer at a record price," Pagliuca said, according to Front Office Sports. "We had no debt or private equity money that would potentially hamstring our ability to compete in the future.” (Sixth Street, a private equity firm, is reportedly putting a billion dollars towards the purchase of the Celtics. Pagliuca himself made his fortune at Bain, one of the best-known PE companies in the world, and is now a senior advisor there.)"

He added: "I recruited new partners with deep resources and expertise in technology and international markets to maximize the Celtics’ successes to ensure we can always compete for Championships, luxury taxes be damned."

The sale comes at a time when valuations for teams continue to soar across the sports spectrum. Mat Ishbia buying the Phoenix Suns and WNBA's Phoenix Mercury for $4 billion in 2022 set a new standard considering the Minnesota Timberwolves and Minnesota Lynx went for just $1.5 billion a year earlier.

With the NBA specifically, the timing has never been better to get out of the ownership business. Sure, teams are making money hand over fist thanks to new media rights deals that run through 2035-36, but the costs are increasing in tandem with revenues.

The collective bargaining agreement has also complicated the process of maintaining a championship contender for multiple seasons.

In the case of Boston, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum will combine to make $120 million by themselves within a few years. Kristaps Porziņģis, Jrue Holiday and Derrick White, three other key players from last year's championship run, are eligible for free agency in successive years (2026, 2027 and 2028).

Grousbeck's ownership group purchased the Celtics for $360 million in 2002. Selling up for $6.1 billion is a pretty easy call when you consider what it will cost to keep running the franchise moving forward.

Grousbeck won't have to worry about being the team owner who broke up a title-winning roster, either, if it comes to that.