The Boston Celtics are on the top of the mountain.
Last month, the 2024 NBA Champions won banner number 18, the most among any NBA franchise. The team has also secured its core of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday, and Derrick White for multiple years. Its two stars are just entering the prime of their careers, signaling that the team that went 80-21 last year when combining the regular season and playoffs could be poised to dominate the NBA for the remainder of the decade.
But amid the announcements that the Celtics had come to a long-term deal with Tatum that would hand him the largest contract in NBA history, the Celtics' ownership announced on Monday, July 1, the largest contract in NBA history, the Celtics ownership announced on Monday, July 1 that it is looking to sell the team.
“The controlling family of the ownership group, after considerable thought and internal discussion, has decided to sell the team for estate and family planning considerations,” Boston Basketball Partners LLC, the team's ownership group, said in a statement released by the Celtics.
The team governor and majority owner Wyc Grousbeck is expected to stay on as the team governor until 2028 though most the team's stake is expected to be sold within the next year.
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Who would buy the Celtics?
There's already been rampant speculation as to who the next owner will be.
Several outlets have pointed out that John Henry, the Fenway Sports Group owner who also owns the MLB's Boston Red Sox and Premier League's Liverpool FC, could be in play. Henry has been looking to own an NBA team and has been linked to the new NBA's expansion team in Las Vegas alongside LeBron James, who is an investor in FSG. But the Celtics would allow Henry an earlier entry into the NBA and further solidify his ties to Boston.
How much would the Celtics cost?
Unless Henry somehow manages to fleece Grousbeck and the rest of the current Celtics ownership, this sale should be the most expensive in the history of the NBA. That title is currently held by the Phoenix Suns, purchased by Matt Ishbia in early 2023 for $4 billion.
Forbes values the Celtics at $4.7 billion, and Sportico values them at $5.1 billion, a 1300% increase in the team's value under the current ownership regime.
While the growth is staggering, it could be more shocking for a sports franchise. In late 2023, Mark Cuban sold the Dallas Mavericks for a price that valued the franchise at $3.5 billion. The Shark Tank judge bought the team in 2000 for $285 million.
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Why the next Celtics owner will be inheriting a tough situation
There are a lot of reasons to believe in investing in an NBA team; the Celtics in particular.
The team can point to the Golden State Warriors, who won four championships between 2015 and 2022, and are now the most valuable NBA franchise with a valuation of $7.7 billion per Forbes. If the team replicates its success this season over the next few years — a big IF, but one that is possible given the roster construction — the franchise can still grow its valuation by building on its brand.
The Warriors also invested in a new arena, the Chase Center, which is an opportunity the new Celtics ownership could explore as Delaware North owns the TD Garden, the parent company of the NHL's Boston Bruins.
But for all the positives, the new Celtics ownership is also going to be inheriting a roster that may be handcuffed in the not-too-distant future. The NBA's latest Collective Bargaining Agreement has put severe penalties on teams whose team payrolls pass specific two different thresholds.
These thresholds are the first and second apron. Both aprons were designed to limit the flexibility of teams that are overspending. Passing the first apron almost eliminates a team from being able to facilitate a sign-and-trade while it also makes it more difficult for teams to match salaries for trades.
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However, teams that past the second apron are in an even more difficult state.
All the first apron penalties apply to second apron teams, but there are harsher penalties that include the inability to trade a first-round pick that's seven years down the line and inability to include cash in a trade.
Teams who are over the second apron for three out of five seasons will automatically have its first-round pick moved to the bottom of the first-round.
According to Spotrac, the Celtics are already over the second apron for the next two years, even though the Celtics only have 8 players under contract for the 2025-26 season. The Celtics are over the second apron for the 2025-26 season even if it paid only its top five players (Tatum, Brown, Holiday, Porzingis, White).
There are several courses of action for the Celtics, which could include trading one or more of its top stars in the coming years. However, that could significantly alter its chances of repeating, which could also play a factor in valuation if the next owner is looking to follow a Warriors model.
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