Less than a month after the Boston Celtics brought home their 18th NBA title, the team’s ownership group announced that it intends to sell all its shares of the team.
Boston Basketball Partners LLC, the current ownership group led by Wyc Grousbeck, released a statement on Monday saying it plans to sell a majority interest either this year or early next year, with Grousbeck expected to stay on as team governor until 2028. According to the statement, the controlling family of the ownership group decided to sell for estate and family planning considerations.
The group bought the team in 2002 for $360 million. According to the latest evaluation by Forbes, the Celtics are now worth $4.7 billion.
Andrew Zimbalist, a sports economist at Smith College, said the team is likely worth even more on the heels of a championship run.
“They’ve got a dominant club, obviously, and they have kind of reinstated the Celtics tradition of yore,” Zimbalist said. “And for those reasons [it’s] probably not a bad idea to sell.”
He also said the ownership group may have been swayed by concerns about the future outlook for sports, even as the NBA negotiates a TV deal that could be worth billions.
“It would make sense to me if [Grousbeck’s] attitude was ... ’We’ve got this upward momentum, we’ve got a great team that just won the championship, this is the time for me to sell.’ I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s thinking like that,” Zimbalist said. “And at the same time, because he does know the sports media market, thinking that, 'Gee, there’s gonna be changes down the road that won’t be so favorable.’”
