For the first time in over 20 years, ownership of the Boston Celtics has switched hands. A group, led by Massachusetts investor, Bill Chilsholm, agreed to buy the franchise for $6.1 billion. This is the highest price for a team in North American sports history, beating the previous record of $6.05 billion which was set by the Washington Commanders in 2023. The ownership is expected to be officially transferred for the upcoming 2025-2026 season.
On Thursday, March 20th, the Boston Celtics announced that they had been sold. Having bought the team in 2002, the previous owners, Boston Basketball Partners LLC, controlled the team for the past 23 years, the most in franchise history. The conglomerate’s leader, Wyc Grousseback, has agreed to remain CEO and governor of the Celtics for the next three years so that the transition to Chisholm will be as seamless as possible. The agreement stipulates that 51% of the Celtics’ stock will be sold to Chisholm as soon as the NBA approves the purchase, which is most likely to happen over the summer. The current shareholders are allowed to retain the rest of their stock until 2028.
The Celtics’ new ownership includes many prominent Boston businessmen including Rob Hale, CEO of Granite Telecommunications, and Bruce Beal Jr., president of the real estate firm, Related Companies. Although there are many shareholders in the group that bought the Celtics, the primary owner will be Chisholm. The investor, who grew up in Georgetown Mass., has been a Celtics fan his whole life. In 2002, Chisholm co-founded Symphony Technology Group, a private equity firm based in California and currently serves as the multi-billion dollar company’s chief investment officer. Although his company is Californian, Chisholm still lives in Massachusetts and has remained an avid Celtics fan.
Chisholm will begin his tenure as an owner with a very strong team. The Celtics are the reigning NBA champions and have essentially the same lineup as they did last year. The team is led by perennial MVP candidate, Jayson Tatum, and last year’s NBA Finals MVP, Jaylen Brown. Although not on pace to finish the regular season with the same record as last year, the Celtics have still managed to clinch a playoff position and are currently second in the Eastern Conference. As long as Chisholm does not make any major mistakes, he can expect to have a strong first season when he takes control of the team next year.
Currently, all parties involved in the transaction seem to be quite happy with the result. Chisholm gets to become a part of his childhood team, while Grousseback and his associates get billions of dollars while retaining influence in the Celtics for the next few years. Chisholm has big shoes to fill, the previous ownership brought Boston two NBA Championships. Even though the expectations of him are daunting, Chisholm seems excited to take on the challenge with Boston’s very strong team. It will soon be revealed whether or not Chisholm will be able to uphold the Celtics’ legacy of dominance.
