Tonight in Unpacks: Fresh off the Celtics’ 18th NBA championship, the ownership group is pondering an exit. But a new title banner isn’t the only thing making conditions ripe for a sale, analyzes SBJ’s Tom Friend.
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Why potential sale of Celtics could be coming at opportune time
The Celtics ownership group -- led by Causeway co-founder and partner Wyc Grousbeck -- is planning to sell the franchise, with sources telling SBJ's Tom Friend that the timing is opportune.
With the NBA on the verge of a media-rights deal worth roughly $76 billion, followed presumably by exorbitant expansion fees in coming years, the sources said the franchise’s net worth has never soared higher. They also speculated the cost of keeping the defending champion Celtics together -- and surpassing the NBA’s second tax apron -- could also play a role. The Celtics' 2024-25 payroll is expected to be just over $192 million (the team on Monday afternoon gave out the largest contract in NBA history -- a five-year, $315 million supermax extension for Jayson Tatum).
Another source told the Boston Globe that while Grousbeck is "looking to sell his stake in the team," the potential sale "is not expected to include the entire investment group that purchased the team in 2002" for $360 million. That scenario coincides with what SBJ’s sources believe -- that Grousbeck has business purposes to unload his portion of the Celtics.
Those sources believe Grousbeck's recent spate of hefty investments, including a large check written through the Strategic Sports Group to the PGA Tour, possibly have him in need of "liquidity" and that the NBA’s looming media deal and expansion make it an ideal time to profit off the franchise. They also said Grousbeck is one of the "new breeds of owners" who views the valuations of an NBA team as "a math exercise more than a family legacy."