Celtics Sell for $6.1 Billion

[Donoghus]

Obviously, the big news of the day and, perhaps the season, up to date.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/44328557/sources-bill-chisholm-agrees-buy-celtics-61-billion

A group led by Bill Chisholm, managing partner at Symphony Technology Group, has agreed to purchase the Boston Celtics for a valuation of $6.1 billion, sources told ESPN's Shams Charania.

That price would surpass the $6.05 billion price a group led by Josh Harris paid to buy the NFL's Washington Commanders in 2023 as the most paid for a franchise in North American sports history, and it would easily surpass the record number for the control stake of an NBA team, which was set two years ago when Mat Ishbia bought the Phoenix Suns for $4 billion.

The new ownership group also includes Boston business leaders Rob Hale, who is a current Celtics shareholder, and Bruce Beal Jr.

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The sale agreement was announced Thursday, but terms were not disclosed.

"This process to buy the team started just under 50 years ago when I had my 7th birthday and attended a game at the old Boston Garden," Chisholm told Charania. "I was hooked ever since. I've been a rabid fan ever since. I bleed green. I love the Celtics. When this opportunity came up, I couldn't pass it up. Wyc has done an incredible job running this franchise. So why would you mess that up? The team is in a great place right now, and I'm very sensitive to that. Wyc, Brad [Stevens] and Joe [Mazzulla] have done amazing jobs and that's all goodness that we want to continue."

The Celtics -- who surpassed their forever rivals, the Los Angeles Lakers, with their 18th NBA title last June when they beat the Dallas Mavericks in five games in the NBA Finals -- began the sale process shortly thereafter, when the team's controlling ownership group -- Boston Basketball Partners, LLC, a group led by co-owners Wyc Grousbeck and Steve Pagliuca since 2002 -- stunned the basketball world by announcing it would be selling the controlling stake in the franchise after more than two decades of stable ownership of one of the most iconic franchises in North American sports.

Grousbeck, whose family leads the ownership group that bought the team in 2002 for $360 million, said Chisholm asked him to stay on as CEO and governor for the next three seasons, "and I am glad to do so."

"We hoped from the beginning to find the right person with the resources and commitment to win banners, and being a great person," Grousbeck told Charania. "Bill checks every box for us. I have always been a consultant and have had final say here with the Celtics since the family bought into the team, and that will continue for the next three years and we will transition."

The agreement calls for a two-part sale in which Chisholm would acquire at least 51% of the team upon approval by the NBA's board of governors, which could come as soon as this summer. Current owners would have the option to retain the remainder of their shares until 2028, when they would be sold at a price that could be up to 20% higher, based on a formula determined by league revenue growth.

"My approach is to win and raise banners," Chisholm told Charania. "That's in the near term and the long term. 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 have laid out make perfect sense to me."

Pagliuca acknowledged the sale Thursday in a statement posted to social media, saying he made a strong push to purchase the Celtics from the Grousbeck family and that he is "saddened to find out that we have not been selected in the process."


Sources told Charania that Grousbeck and Pagliuca exchanged "warm" texts on Thursday.

During a conference call with reporters in November after Boston visited the White House to celebrate its title, Grousbeck reiterated the plan for him to remain in charge after the sale, and through 2028.

Timing aside, what isn't in dispute is that for the first time in a generation, the Celtics are changing hands, with Chisholm, who has made his fortune in private equity, taking over a team that not only is one of the favorites to repeat as champions, but also has massive questions ahead of it this summer.

Boston is on pace to become the first team in NBA history to surpass $500 million in combined payroll and luxury tax payments next season, as Jayson Tatum's supermax extension officially comes online at the same time as the final steps of the current collective bargaining agreement come online, making it prohibitively expensive to keep a team like this together for the long term.

In the meantime, however, the Celtics are one of the favorites to win the title this season, as they hope to become the first team to repeat as champions since the 2017-18 Golden State Warriors.

"With the new collective bargaining agreement, it puts all of the basketball issues at a premium," Grousbeck told Charania. "You have to be brilliant and lucky to run a team successfully. We have that in Brad. Brad is the executive of the year."

The Celtics have won an NBA record 18 NBA titles -- trailing only the New York Yankees (27) and Montreal Canadiens (24) among all North American professional sports leagues.

Chisholm will attend games with his wife in April.

"It's been emotional for me since we got this done," Chisholm told Charania. "As a family, we listened to Johnny Most, the old voice of Celtics, describing the Celtics and one of his calls. ... We just listened to him and had a great dinner [Wednesday] night. It's a dream come true. I have had to pinch myself. This is the best sports franchise in the world -- not just the United States and not just basketball. It's the winningest team in the U.S. and the quality of what's here is unmatched. I think about the potential and the legacy here, and I personally feel like I got a bargain.

"I'm a fan. That's the most important thing. I bleed green. I'm up for the challenge."

The Celtics' sale also could have an impact on the potential timeline for NBA expansion. For months, sources have said that process wouldn't move forward until there was clarity on Boston's situation, and where this sale price wound up. Now that there is clarity -- and at this kind of number -- the league could revisit that timeline, sources said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

[Donoghus]

I'm usually wary of private equity when it comes to ownership but willing to give Chisholm the benefit of the doubt for now given his local roots and his seemingly deep passion for the Celtics as a fan.

[Phantom255x]

Lol is it just me or does this site seem to go down whenever big news is breaking 

First it was the Luka trade about 1.5 months ago. Then this.

I'm cautiously optimistic. It's nice to hear he's actually someone from the area and has been a lifelong C's fan, plus it sounds like he's already talked with Stevens, Wyc, etc. so hopefully everyone is in sync going forward.

[Kuberski33]

Everyone's saying all the right things. Time will tell, I suppose. I was hoping Pagliuca would get it. Atalanta is probably the best run team in Italy's Serie A, one that continually punches above its weight. I think Pags would have been a great majority owner. 

Regardless of business, a lot of owners say the right thing initially, but things change once they actually take over. I do like that Chisholm connected with Brad multiple times apparently. He's the guy you have to keep around for this all to continue.

[trickybilly]

So, really it's 6.1 plus the projected luxury tax bill right?

[Roy H.]

So, really it's 6.1 plus the projected luxury tax bill right?

From what I understand, it's a controlling share (51%?) based upon a $6.1 billion evaluation.  In a couple of years, they'll buy the rest of the available shares at a valuation of around $7.3 billion.

I assume that payroll and tax will be paid in proportion to ownership stake.

https://www.axios.com/2025/03/20/boston-celtics-record-sale

[Phantom255x]

I have a question. So next year's entire roster if kept 100% will be a 500M payroll. Will it go down the year after that since KP's deal is off the books and so is Horford? Or is it like 500M next year, and still a very high number the following year?

I know I know, 500M for one year is a ton, but could they theoretically be fine paying it for a year if they know for sure it'll go down in 2027, and then by then Horford retires, the cap rises, maybe KP re-signs on a much cheaper deal and you can slot in guys like Scheierman into the lineup?

I mean Phoenix is paying about 410M for this season's roster (roster + luxury tax)

Ultimately I do think Jrue gets traded either this offseason or next regardless. I would hope they can keep everyone else though (The Jays, White, KP, PP)

[slightly biased bias fan]

That sale figure is insane.

The new ownership group must know something that we the public do not. As a private equity firm, they only want financial returns (either short or long term).

The Boston Celtics obviously do not own their own arena, so unlike the Warriors ownership group, the Celtics cannot look to expand revenue streams.

[bdm860]

Regardless of business, a lot of owners say the right thing initially, but things change once they actually take over.

Ya these guys all have PR teams to make everything look and sound good. Nobody comes in and says "we bought the team to make money" even if that's really why. Even the OKC owners said they wanted to keep the team in Seattle when they first bought it.

I do wonder how much of a hard-core fan he really is, easy to be a fan in the 80's or when Garnett came to town or now, but was he actively following the team in the dark years? Really, I'd expect even if he was just a casual fan his people would try to spin it as him being a huge fan.

My worry is, I remember in my younger dating days, it was like meeting a girl who said she was a big fan of one of my favorite bands/artists/groups, but then it turns out she only knows that one main stream song. I hope that's not the case here.

I'm always skeptical about these things until I see otherwise, but it definitely could be worse.

[Kuberski33]

That sale figure is insane.

The new ownership group must know something that we the public do not. As a private equity firm, they only want financial returns (either short or long term).

The Boston Celtics obviously do not own their own arena, so unlike the Warriors ownership group, the Celtics cannot look to expand revenue streams.

Chisholm is the majority investor in the group buying the team is the way I read this. And while he's made his money in private equity, a private equity firm isn't buying the Celtics. So I don't think financial returns are the main objective, though these franchises all escalate in value it seems and with expansion around the corner that's not likely to change. 

I do think the key question is does he want to build an arena? And then, of course, where is the even bigger question - I strongly doubt it would be within the city of Boston, but who knows?

[radiohead]

That sale figure is insane.

The new ownership group must know something that we the public do not. As a private equity firm, they only want financial returns (either short or long term).

The Boston Celtics obviously do not own their own arena, so unlike the Warriors ownership group, the Celtics cannot look to expand revenue streams.

Chisholm is the majority investor in the group buying the team is the way I read this. And while he's made his money in private equity, a private equity firm isn't buying the Celtics. So I don't think financial returns are the main objective, though these franchises all escalate in value it seems and with expansion around the corner that's not likely to change. 

I do think the key question is does he want to build an arena? And then, of course, where is the even bigger question - I strongly doubt it would be within the city of Boston, but who knows?

This is a nice interview. He said he hasn?t thought about a new arena yet. Looks like he?s been a life long fan though.

https://youtu.be/ZmWd27iT6Lo?si=qhGwIj0AqKi-NLBt

[radiohead]

Pags? statement on the sale. I feel bad for him and his group. A poster said maybe there?s a rift between him and Wyc, which might be a factor in not giving his group the winning bid.

https://www.reddit.com/r/bostonceltics/comments/1jfqusu/steve_pagliucas_statement_on_the_celtics/

[Roy H.]

Pags? statement on the sale. I feel bad for him and his group. A poster said maybe there?s a rift between him and Wyc, which might be a factor in not giving his group the winning bid.

https://www.reddit.com/r/bostonceltics/comments/1jfqusu/steve_pagliucas_statement_on_the_celtics/

I don't think there's a rift.  There's been a lot of speculation about why Pags didn't get the team.  It's probably as simple as money.  A split valuation of $6.1 billion now, $7.3 billion in stage two is pretty wild.  I doubt Pags could beat it.

[SparzWizard]

Chrisholm did say the right things during the video call interview. But being part of a PE has me worried (see: Nico and Dallas). But his public statement sounds encouraging. Good to hear he wants to stay the course and not mess up anything, complimenting Brad as a genius, etc.

I mean, Wyc never won a title again until 16 years later so there's that too, and I thought, he was a good owner lol. But yeah I want to win now and win in the future.

[tazzmaniac]

That sale figure is insane.

The new ownership group must know something that we the public do not. As a private equity firm, they only want financial returns (either short or long term).

The Boston Celtics obviously do not own their own arena, so unlike the Warriors ownership group, the Celtics cannot look to expand revenue streams.

Chisholm is the majority investor in the group buying the team is the way I read this. And while he's made his money in private equity, a private equity firm isn't buying the Celtics. So I don't think financial returns are the main objective, though these franchises all escalate in value it seems and with expansion around the corner that's not likely to change. 

I do think the key question is does he want to build an arena? And then, of course, where is the even bigger question - I strongly doubt it would be within the city of Boston, but who knows?

Per an Athletic article. a private equity firm is involved. 

Sixth Street, a private equity firm, is also buying a portion of the team and will put in more than $1 billion, an industry source said. The firm bought into the Spurs in 2021 and is now one of three firms with investments in multiple NBA franchises.