Boston’s ownership group is taking the “sell high” business catchphrase to a new high.
The NBA champion Boston Celtics are for sale.
A statement from the Boston Celtics pic.twitter.com/DqArzkGnR5
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) July 1, 2024
Forbes estimates the value of the Celtics at $4.7 billion, but the publication’s valuations have proven to be on the low side when it comes to sales.
There are a few reasons the timing makes sense. First, the Celtics are coming off an NBA championship and are set up to compete for a ring in the next handful of years, led by Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. On a purely business side, the league and teams are about to get an influx of money from a new national television rights deal — which will more than double the money coming into the league from that source — followed by expansion, which will lead to massive expansion payments (the expected buy-in price could be close to $4 billion for each team) divided among the 30 existing NBA team owners.
Wyc Grousbeck and the current Celtics ownership group — who gave a max contract extension to Brown last summer and will do the same with Tatum this summer — will get to ride with the Celtics through this championship window, but the handover in four years times with what will be some hard choices for the new ownership group about breaking up this team.
The Celtics are not alone, long-time owner and prominent NBA personality Mark Cuban recently sold his stake in the Dallas Mavericks.
