Celtics' Wyc Grousbeck Reportedly Out as Governor amid $6.1B Sale to Bill Chisholm

Former Boston Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck will no longer stay on as governor after selling the team to Bill Chisholm, ESPN's Shams Charania reported Tuesday.

However, ESPN's Ramona Shelburne added that Grousbeck will be alternate governor and CEO:

Grousbeck initially said while agreeing to sell the Celtics for a valuation of $6.1 billion this spring that he planned to remain in control of the team through the 2028 season.

Chisholm will instead take on the title of governor in a transfer that "will be finalized soon," according to Charania.

Grousbeck will retain his title as CEO and become an alternate governor once the sale is completed, Charania and ESPN's Ramona Shelburne reported.

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban took on the same title after selling his majority share in the franchise in 2023.

Grousbeck has been in charge of the Celtics since his family purchased the team in 2002 for $360 million.

He has been talking about his plan to stay in control of the team for three years after the sale since at least July 2024, when he told CNBC he wanted to sell the team in two parts while not giving up control until the second sale was made in 2028.

ESPN's Tim Bontemps reported in March that the agreement between Chisholm and Groubeck's groups involved "a two-part sale in which Chisholm would acquire at least 51% of the team upon approval by the NBA's board of governors."

Chisholm told ESPN's Shams Charania at the time: "I've had a couple of sit-downs with Brad and it's been about aligning our goals, and extending the window of this team. The plans that Wyc and Brad [Stevens] have laid out make perfect sense to me."

At the time of the sale announcement, Grousbeck said in a statement that Chisholm "has asked me to run the team as CEO and Governor for the first three years, and stay on as his partner, and I am glad to do so.”

Charania and Shelburne noted that the NBA's Board of Governors had been informed "in recent days" of the change in Grousbeck's status.

Sportico's Kurt Badenhausen and Scott Soshnick reported last Thursday that the sale of the Celtics was expected to close within two weeks. Charania and Shelburne updated that timeline on Tuesday to "within the next week."