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In June 2024, the Boston Celtics broke their championship drought, winning their first NBA title since 2008 (and once again surpassing their arch-rivals, the Lakers, in titles). Less than a year later, Massachusetts is once again the talk of the town—the Celtics set a world record for the largest sports franchise sale.
The record set by a consortium led by Joshua Harris when they purchased the Washington Commanders in the NFL has officially fallen—the new deal is worth $6.1 billion, which is half a billion more. The most titled team in the history of American professional basketball officially became the most expensive one.
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The Boston Celtics is now officially the most expensive franchise in the history of professional sports
Image credits: Boston Celtics
The consortium, led by Bill Chisholm, a Massachusetts native and private equity mogul, has acquired the team for $6.1B
Twenty-two years ago, the Grousbeck family acquired the Celtics, who were then probably at the lowest point in their history, gradually moving away from Rick Pitino’s dubious management. But even then, the $360M they paid for the franchise was an NBA record. Today, the Celtics are the reigning champions, and some experts seriously believe that the Grousbecks sold themselves short.
In any case, the Celtics now have billionaire owners. Bill Chisholm is one of them—a guy from Massachusetts, a graduate of Dartmouth College, and now the managing partner and chief investment officer for Symphony Technology Group. And, in his own words, a longtime Celtics fan.
There were several contenders for the NBA champions, but thanks to this deal, Boston is the record holder among all American professional sports. At least until somewhere in Texas, Jerry Jones gets finally tired of going all in… (who said “never…?”)
Current Celtics co-owner Steve Pagliuca has made a statement to fans that he did his best to acquire the team but didn’t succeed
Image credits: pagsceltics
The main motive for the current owners to sell the team would probably be the lux tax due to NBA financial rules
There is a key motive in the deal that the Grousbeck family is carrying out right now—the luxury tax that the Celtics are already paying, according to NBA rules, which will become completely unbelievable in the near future when the new supermax contract of the club’s main star, Jayson Tatum, comes into effect in 2025.
In addition, if Boston wants to keep the championship roster at least (and they do), they need to pay the role players. At least Derrick White and Sam Houser, while the tax is $54M this season, and it will only grow in the future. General Manager Brad Stevens, of course, is a genius—but he’s not a magician, after all. Therefore, wealthier owners provide additional insurance for the whole franchise.
Image credits: Gettyimages
Moreover, the Grousbecks are not leaving right now. It is reported that Vic Grousbeck, the current owner, will remain in management until 2028 when the Chisholm’s consortium will buy out the entire stake (right now, the new owners are getting only 51%). By the way, Steve Pagliuca, the current co-owner, also tried to buy out the team but didn’t find sufficiently wealthy partners, which he himself told the fans.
Then there’s another question—why do Chisholm and his partners need this at all (and among the partners is the Sixth Street investment fund, which also owns a stake in the San Antonio Spurs, another iconic NBA franchise)? Firstly, the Celtics are a unique brand from a big market, with only a couple of equals in all of American sports.
Image credits: William Chisholm
Secondly, and this is probably the most important thing, since 1993, according to a decision made by Congress, the costs of acquiring sports franchises can be depreciated and transferred to the general expenses of the buyer for 15 years after the purchase. Thus, the tax base is significantly reduced. So the purchase—even such a huge one—still remains a damn good deal.
Image credits: David Vives / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
The deal sets a new world record, beating the recent NFL Washington Commanders purchase by $0.5B
The expectations of Celtics fans—and they are incredibly picky (just believe me, I am one of them)—are quite contradictory. On one hand, a new owner with big money, a native of Massachusetts, and a longtime fan of the Celts—this is good. On the other—I myself, like many other fans, would probably like the franchise to go to the way more known Pagliuca.
In the end, we have a fresh example before our eyes, when the Dallas Mavericks also got new co-owners—and then traded, probably, the second most important person in the history of the whole franchise just for Anthony Davis’ medical certificate. The main thing, however, is that this doesn’t affect the team’s mood—after all, the playoffs are starting very soon.
In the meantime, we can only hope for a bright future and move forward, as the great Red Auerbach bequeathed. Let’s return to this issue in the summer. Ideally, we’ll discuss the new owners while holding a championship cigar. But for now, we’ll just state: the Boston Celtics are the most expensive franchise in the history of professional sports. Now it’s official.
Celtics fans are very divided, as many people would have wanted to have current co-owner Steve Pagliuca be that one guy
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