All summer long, there has been speculation with who will buy the Boston Celtics. As of today, it sounds like we now know for sure that Fenway Sports Group will not be in the running.
According to Dave Powell of the “Liverpool Echo,” LeBron James, John Henry, and Co. will be keeping their sights set on a new Las Vegas NBA expansion franchise, rather than the historic one in Boston.
“But during the summer the Boston Celtics NBA team, the current NBA champions no less, were put up for sale by Wyc Grousbeck, and given FSG’s strong ties to the city, with its base being in Boston, there was much rumor and conjecture around a potential bid by the Reds’ owners for the Celtics, with the New York Post claiming that there was significant interest.
However, that interest had been dismissed by people the ECHO spoke to on the matter, with Celtics shareholder and current owner of Italian Serie A side Atalanta, Stephen Pagliuca, being tipped as the person to make a play for control.”
This is fantastic news.
The Henry-led FSG had been a rumored suitor for the Celtics ever since news broke in June that the team was up for sale. This of course sparked angst amongst the Celtics faithful, due to the first-hand experience the city has had with FSG’s ownership of the Boston Red Sox.
Ownership can make or break a franchise’s championship hopes. In the case of the Sox, there’s a feeling that the team could’ve had more success in recent years if ownership hadn’t been so set on saving money.
Franchise staples like Mookie Betts, Chris Sale, and Xander Bogaerts all wound up being let go in favor of keeping the checkbooks closed.
It’s tough to imagine the Celtics dealing with that same treatment, as Wyc Grousbeck has essentially done the opposite. After already being over the CBA’s second-apron, Boston re-signed or extended just about everyone from last season’s championship squad.
In the 2025-26 season, the team could face up to $500 million in luxury tax penalties, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks. This doesn’t bode well for making a profit, which is reportedly one of the reasons that Wyc’s father, Irv, has pushed for this sale.
The sale process itself will be getting underway rather soon, per Grousbeck’s recent chat with The Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach.
“The sale process is gearing up and about to hit full speed,” Grousbeck told Himmelsbach earlier this month. “It took this long for our advisors to go through the financial and business data of the team and our whole management team, and spend enough time to put together offering books. Now they’re beginning to have discussions with interested parties and the bidding process will commence in the next month or so.”
Grousbeck did mention the responsibility of finding a “great buyer” to take on the team.
