A new ownership group has entered into an agreement to purchase a stake of the Boston Celtics, and the sale price set a new North American sports record.
Billionaire Bill Chisholm, managing partner at Symphony Technology Group, has agreed to purchase a majority stake in the Celtics from the Grousbeck family at a valuation of $6.1 billion. That valuation surpasses the $6.05 billion the Washington Commanders were valued at in their 2023 sale.
The valuation of the Celtics also blows away the $4 billion valuation that was attached to the Phoenix Suns when Mat Ishbia bought the franchise in 2023.
NBA owners have to be thrilled with the price tag attached to the Celtics. There are several NBA franchises that are more valuable than the Celtics, who don’t own their arena.
After news of the sale surfaced, fans all said the same thing about how much teams like the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors would sell for.
#Lakers are worth 8-10 billion if the Celtics can locate 6.1.
— Keeping IT 💯 (@MortgageSense83) March 20, 2025
If the Celtics worth 6 Billi, Jeanie sitting on a gold mine with the Lakers
— ! (@SkoolboyLu) March 20, 2025
Boston Celtics sold for 6.1 billion… Knicks, Lakers & Warriors would double that easily
— thomas (@tmallilo) March 20, 2025
Lakers selling will be triple times this btw
— Larry Rudolph (@ScoutFball) March 20, 2025
Lakers would sell for double this
— Lakers Lead (@LakersLead) March 20, 2025
Those fans probably are not wrong. Recent estimates have indicated that the Celtics aren’t even among the top-five in most valuable NBA franchises. CNBC last month valued the Warriors at $9.4 billion, the New York Knicks at $7.5 billion and the Lakers at $7 billion. The Celtics were seventh on the list at $5.5 billion, also coming in behind the Chicago Bulls, Houston Rockets and Brooklyn Nets.
The Celtics may soon have a new majority ownership group, but the plan was for not much to change with the franchise for a few more years. Wyc Grousbeck said in a statement to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne that the new ownership group 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.”
The 63-year-old Grousbeck first purchased the Celtics in 2002 as part of a group that also included his father Irv (who is now 90 years old). Grousbeck announced over the summer that he intended to sell the franchise, shortly after the Celtics won their NBA-record 18th championship.
