The NBA has slowed its expansion largely because it wants to see how the sale of the Boston Celtics plays out, hoping it could set a record for the price of the franchise and, with that, raise entry fees which will be requested from new owners looking for new owners. to enter the league.
It appears the league office will get its wish: At least four (and maybe five) offers from potential new owners – with a final sale price in excess of $6 billion – are expected at the close of the first round of the Boston Celtics sales process in January. .23, reports Michael Silverman of the Boston Globe. From this initial group of four or five, two bidders will be chosen in February to undergo a final round of bidding. However, if one of the first-round offers “meets (the Grousbeck family’s) expectations,” that could end the process. The Celtics are owned by the Grousbeck family, with Wyc Grousbeck serving as majority owner and governor of the franchise.
This sounds like something the Grousbecks would want to disclose in the days leading up to these first offers due to an increase in price. All of this may be true, but the timing of the news is interesting to say the least.
Although the bidders are not public, we do know that the team’s current minority owner, Steve Pagliuca, is leading a consortium that is making a bid. Fenway Sports Group – which owns, among others, the MLB’s Boston Red Sox, the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins and the English Premier League’s Liverpool Football Club – is also expected to make an offer.
The Grousbeck family surprised many people by announcing they would sell the team right after the Celtics won the 2024 NBA title.
However, most of the Grousbeck family apparently saw this as an opportunity to sell high. Mark Cuban, in discussing his reasons for selling his majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks, said NBA ownership is shifting from a technology game to more of a real estate game, with teams and new arenas serving as anchor points to much larger development plans. (Cuban said it wasn’t his specialty).
The new owners, whoever they may be, will take over a team that is in contention for the title, but will face difficult financial decisions going forward. The Celtics’ 2025-26 roster (as constructed) will likely cost more than $500 million in salary and luxury tax penalties, a level that is unsustainable for any owner.
