A “Believe in Boston” flag is raised during the Duck Boat Parade celebrating the Boston Celtics’ 18th NBA championship.
Stan Grossfeld | Boston Globe | Getty Images
The 2024 National Basketball Association (NBA) champions are for sale.
The Boston Celtics ownership group announced plans to sell the team on Monday, according to a statement posted on the Celtics’ account on social media site X.
Boston Basketball Partners LLC, the ownership group’s controlling family, said it plans to sell its entire stake in the team due to “estate and family planning considerations.”
The sale of the majority stake is expected to close by the end of 2024 or early 2025, with the remainder of the sale expected to close in 2028, according to the statement.
With sports team valuations soaring, the Celtics could fetch a particularly high price: They are one of the most successful and widely supported franchises in American professional sports, having won their 18th NBA championship last month, the most in NBA history.
Wyck Grousbeck led the buying team that acquired the Celtics for $360 million in 2002. A Massachusetts native and lifelong Celtics fan, Grousbeck will oversee the team through a second acquisition in 2028.
Grousbeck is also part of the ownership group of tequila brand Cincoro, which also includes other NBA team owners and Hall of Fame player Michael Jordan.
Representatives for Grusbeck and the team did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
Jaylen Brown, wearing number 7 of the Boston Celtics, makes a three-point shot against the Dallas Mavericks during Game 5 of the 2024 NBA Finals at TD Garden in Boston on June 17, 2024.
Nathaniel S. Butler | National Basketball Association | Getty Images
The Celtics defeated the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 of the Finals in June to win their most recent NBA championship, the team’s second championship under Grusbeck’s ownership.
Professional sports teams in the United States, particularly those in the National Football League (NFL) and NBA, have a reputation for being high when owners sell off portions of their shares, if not the entire team.
In 2023, the NBA’s Phoenix Suns and WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury were sold to Matt Ishbia for a record valuation of $4 billion.
Meanwhile, with live sports drawing the biggest TV audiences, the league’s media rights are more lucrative than ever.
Negotiations for the NBA’s media rights are ongoing and an announcement is expected soon, with Comcast’s NBCUniversal expected to pay $2.5 billion per year, CNBC previously reported, and Disney’s ESPN and Amazon Prime Video also among the bidders.
—CNBC’s Jessica Golden contributed to this article.
Disclosure: NBCUniversal is the parent company of CNBC.
